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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.
Click here to report a problem with this page.
Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: "Mr. Bill Hare" <Test@fagost.comt>
Reply-To: bnhtranzactdept@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 07 Mar 2023 15:34:15 +0100
Subject: Fund Completion Notice
Dear Beneficiary,
I was directed by Mr. Christopher Laggard , Director at International Monetary Fund Head Department Washington D.C.© 2023 To contact you regarding your funds here in our esteemed bank.
Are you dead or alive? We received a conflicting message from your partner who claims you are dead. So IMF director has given me the go ahead to reach you and confirm if you are still alive because your online account login and password is ready for you to start making use of your online account.
Kindly as a matter of urgency contact me so that I will be sure you are still the real person because many people are coming to claim your funds and I suspect people working with IMF in Africa and now your funds are here with us.
I wait for your urgent response.
Best Regards,
Bill Hare
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Anti-fraud resources:
