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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mary Joshua <ekiesel@t-online.de>
Reply-To:
"mary4joshuainvestment@gmail.com" <mary4joshuainvestment@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2023 09:28:11 +0100 (CET)
Subject: I Need Your Help For Investment
Hi Dear,
I am sure this mail would be coming to you as a surprise since we have
never met before and you would also be asking why I have decided to choose
you, Its a work of God for me to be able to locate you.
Please can you permit to inform you of my desire to go into business
relationship with you?
My father was wealthy cocoa and gold merchant here in Abidjan capital city
of Ivory Coast. He was killed by the rebels that attacked our country Cote
d’Ivoire and took over our town (San-Pedro). I ran to Abidjan the
economical capital of Cote d’Ivoire from where I am contacting you.
Before the death of my late parents, they deposited the sum of US$5.5m
Dollars in a bank in my name as the next of kin. My Dear I will like you to
help me and get this fund invest in your country while i continuing my
education.
I will give you more details as soon as i hear from you.
Yours Faithfully,
Miss Mary Joshua

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Anti-fraud resources:
