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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: "Mr. Connie Adams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <connieadams09@gmx.us>
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 00:25:33 -0700
Subject: Urgent and Confidential Information..

Hello, My name is Mr. Connie Adams. I am the Foreign Auditor of Fidelity Bank here in Nigeria. I would need your consent to present you as the next of kin to our late customer Mr. Anderson who died of heart attack in 2009. He was a wealthy business man who deposited the sum of $12,500,000.00 in our Bank. He died without any registered next of kin as he was long divorced. I was also his personal account officer and have in my possession all the documents required to present you as his beneficiary next of kin since you bear the same last name as the late Mr. Anderson. We can work together to claim this fund. Please listen, this is real and goes on in Banks all over the world without people knowing. Let us utilize this opportunity because it does not come always. A lot of customers open private accounts with different Banks without the knowledge of their families and when they die, such money will be lost to the Bank unless someone comes forward to claim it. This is how a lot of Bank Directors make so much money silently. On your confirmation of this message and indicating your interest, I will furnish you with more details. Please feel free to call me on my direct telephone number +1-470-231-1770 or email me your number to reach you. I urgently hope to get your response as soon as possible. kind regards, Connie Adams.

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