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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",500,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Mrs Natalie Woodard <abdihersirose@gmail.com>
Reply-To: woodardn088@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2023 12:01:54 +0100
Subject: Good Day My Dear Friend
Good Day My Dear Friend
May God protect you and your family from sickness,I know You will be
surprised to receive this message from me because we do not know each other
before. My name is Mrs. Natalie Diaz Woodard, I am writing you this mail
from the hospital with the help of my doctor because I am very sick now and
i can not write only me. I want to make a donation of $3,500,000.00 dollars
to the less privileged before I die. I am afraid I may not survive this
illness. My intention is to use the money to open a Charity Foundation but
my health is very bad now.
For this reason I will need your help to manage the charity foundation on
my behalf, if only you are willing to help me. I will tell you more about
my plans when I hear back from you.
Remain blessed and protected.
Yours new friend
Mrs. Natalie Woodard
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Anti-fraud resources:
