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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.
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Geraldine Nelson <gnse7851@gmail.com>
Reply-To: gernels12@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2023 09:46:34 +0000
Subject: Hello Dear..
How are you? I hope you are good. I am very sorry for this sudden contact.
I got your email address through an online directory. And I am contacting
you personally because I seriously needed your help. I am a 19 years old
girl and the only daughter of my parents who died mysteriously. My father
worked for many years in an oil company and he made some funds deposit with
my name as next of kin, in his bank before he died and I want you to help
me transfer this money to your own bank account in your country and also
help me come to your country to continue my education. This is because
after the death of my parents, my wicked uncle wants to kill me and collect
my inheritance money from me because I have no one to defend me. I have
reported my uncle to the local police here in my country, but nothing has
been done since then. I am writing this mail from a local hotel where I am
presently hiding for my safety. I am willing to offer you 20% of the money
as compensation for your help after the successful transfer. Your urgent
response will be appreciated. Talk to you the more.
Geraldine.
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Anti-fraud resources:
