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: "Mrs Merriam Sandoval" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <meriamsandoval@outlook.com>
Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 04:04:18 +0400
Subject: Dear Beloved

*This message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(r) Pro*
Dear Beloved
 
I have sent this letter before and waited for your respond.I will be very appreciative if you can take your time to read my(proposition)considerately, perhaps you will be able to understand
Given my current state of health,I have decided to donate what I inherited from my late husband to enable you help the poor and needy. I am Mrs Merriam Sandova,a devoted christian.I will donate the funds to float the foundation {worth millions of dollars} and need somebody to help me finish it because of my health.I was diagnosed for cancer about 2 years ago and I have few months to live according to medical experts.I want you to Distribute my funds($US 2,300 million) to Charities.I want you to help me dispatch the deposit I have with a finance/Security Company abroad to the motherless,less privileged and widows I have set aside 30% for you.I will tell you more about this transaction upon your reply to my email.
 
email:meriamsandoval@outlook.com
Yours in Christ,
Mrs Merriam Sandova

Anti-fraud resources: