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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: jameswilliams1@seznam.cz
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:42:08 +0100 (CET)
Subject: =?us-ascii?Q?i=20need=20your=20sincerity=20please=20advice?=

Sir,
Sorry to write you again after our last discussion, but the situation has warranted it and I feel its best to consult you.
My Boss is ready to move and I´ve paid in the sum of ($16,500) for the first part of the transfer fee as we agreed into the account you gave me.

Am I supposed to use that same account for the concluding part of the money or any other means?

As you can see,i have paid $16,500 which is the 1% of the total contract value of $1,650,000.


Please do let me know immediately to avoid unnecessary delay.
Again, sorry to bother you with questions!

Yours truly,
Williams

Anti-fraud resources: