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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: "MRS PIA NILSSON" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <pianilsson1961@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:17:24 +0100
Subject: Hello dear please i need your assistance

Hello Dear,

I hope you will not be offended for this direct contact I am making with you; I don’t mean to disturb you. My name is MRS PIA NILSSON , a Swedish citizen, I am 72 years old, suffering from a long time cancer of the breast which also affected my liver, from all indication my conditions is really deteriorating and it is quite obvious that, according to my doctors they have advised me that I may not live for the next two months, this is because the cancer stage has gotten to a very bad stage. I am married to my late husband for Forty six years without a child; before my husband died we have been living and own cocoa processing company here in Republic of Ghana. Since his death I decided not to re-marry, I sold all my inherited belongings and made a fix deposit valued at (Eight Million, One Hundred Thousand US Dollars) with a bank here, the due date for this deposit contract expired since the 10th of December 2012

Presently, this fund is still with them and the management just wrote me as the true owner to come forward to receive the money for keeping it so long or rather issue a letter of authorization to somebody to receive it on my behalf since I can not come over because of my illness or they get it confiscated. I don’t want this to happen, because if the Bank Directors happens to know that i do not have any Heir/Next of Kin, they will take the funds for their personal use. This is why I am seeking your co-operation to present you as Next of Kin/ Heir to my account, so that the bank heads quarters will release the account to you and help to take me to specialist hospital of cancer for a better treatment. As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the bank and issue you a letter of authorization that will prove you as the new beneficiary of my fund. I am not a greedy person, so I am suggesting to offer you 30% for your assistance as long as you will assure me th
at you will act accordingly as I

Sincerely

Mrs Pia Nilsson

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