joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days
  jwSpamSpy

Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"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:

Fraud email example:

From: Mary Tendaji <nicegirl_l@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: marytruth80@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:47:40 -0800 (PST)
Subject: HI


OLÁ,
 
Como você está? Espero que
estejam bem, Meu nome é Miss Mary, meu coração está em busca de um
verdadeiro amante que vai trazer alegria e felicidade de volta na minha
vida, eu estou procurando um relacionamento de longo prazo, que
compreende a necessidade de amar e ser amado (Lembre-se da distância ou
de cor não importa, mas o amor importa muito na vida) eu estou esperando
por sua resposta de modo que eu vou lhe enviar minha foto e dizer mais
sobre mim, Tome cuidado e ter um bom tempo.
Miss Mary

HELLO,
 
How are you? i hope you are fine, My name is
Miss Mary, my heart is seeking for a true lover that will bring joy and
happiness back in my life,I am looking for a long term relationship,who
understands the need to love and be loved(Remember the distance or
colour does not matter but love matters a lot in life)i am waiting for
your response so that i will send you my picture and tell you more about
me,Take care and have a nice time.
Miss Mary

Anti-fraud resources: