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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "PAUL R. GUEI" <paulguei@hotmail.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: paulgue@juno.com
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 18:04:52 +0000
Subject: GOOD DAY

DEAR,GOOD DAY.

I KNOW THIS MESSAGE WILL COME TO YOU AS A SUPRISE CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT WE HAVE NOT KNOWN EACH OTHER NOR HAD ANY FORMAL DISCUSSION BEFORE.

MY NAME IS PAUL ROBERT GUEI. THE SON OF FORMER MILITRY HEAD OF STATE COTE D"IVOIRE GEN. ROBERT GUEI WHO WAS MURDERED BY THE GOVERNMENT ON THE 19tSEPT.2002 DURING A COUP ATTEMPT.

AFTER THE TRAGIC INCIDENT I RAN TO DAKAR-SENEGAL FOR SAFETY UNDER ASSYLUM CONDITION. BECAUSE LAST 3 YEARS MY LATE FATHER DEPOSITED THE SUM OF$9,300,000:00 US DOLLARS.(NINE MILLION THREE HUNDRED THAUSAND US
DOLLARS) IN A HIGHLY SECURITY FINANCE COMPANY HERE IN DAKAR-SENEGAL WITH MY NAME AS NEXT OF KIN.

I AM LOOKING FOR A TRUSTWORTHY PERSON TO ASSIST ME WITH THE FOLLOWING : (i)TO ASSIST ME WITH A TRUSTWORTHY ACCOUNT WHERE THE FUND
WILL BE TRANSFERED TO.(ii)TO ASSIST ME AND INVEST THE FUND IN ANY PROFITABLE BUSINESS. (iii)TO ASSIST ME AND GET A RESIDENCE PERMIT WHERE I CAN STAY AND START A NEW LIFE.

NOTE THAT SOME PART OF THIS MONEY WILL BE COMPASETED TO YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE. I HOPE YOU WILL TRUST TO ASSIST ME AS YOUR BROTHER AND MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY, IF SO THANKS BE TO GOD BECAUSE WITH HIM ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

IF YOU NEED URGENT CONFORMATION OF THE ABOVE MATTER YOU CAN CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO HEAR FROM YOU. YOUR URGENT REPLY
WILL BE HIGHLY APPRECIATED.

CENCERELY,

PAUL R. GUEI




Anti-fraud resources: