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: "Mr. George Anderson." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <georgeanderson12@inbox.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 15:55:12 -0500
Subject: THE COMPENSATION FUNDS.

I am Mr. George Anderson from the Department of Compensation in Association with United Nations and the Department of Commerce for the United States of America. This is to notify you that after our meeting today, we came to a conclusion that we are going to pay you the sum of US$10,000,000 for your Compensation Funds. This fund of US$10,000,000 has been approved for final payment and it will be delivered directly to your home address. The funds of US$10,000,000 have been registered as a Sensitive Photographic Materials into two metal boxes to be delivered to you with out any problem or delay. You are advised to include the following below details. (1). Full Name: (2). Delivery Address: (3). Telephone Number: (4). Occupation: (5). Age: (6). Gender: (7). Driver’s License OR Passport: (8). Nearest Airport close to you: Regards, Mr. George Anderson. (etenta.com)

Anti-fraud resources: