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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: "Stephen Tam" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <stephentam147@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2019 23:12:35 -0700
Subject: BUSINESS: UPDATE

Hello Friend,

My name is Stephen Tam. I am top-exec in a global bank here in Asia.

I have an offer for you that will greatly benefit us both. A customer of ours died 10-years ago and left unclaimed, dormant funds in our bank. If we work together, we can easily claim this money because of my position and your surname. If you wish, I can send you more details.

Sincerely,
Stephen Tam

Anti-fraud resources: