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: MR JAMES ENTWISTLE <usaembassy.nig0444@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2021 22:42:15 -0800
Subject: PAYMENT NOTICE I

U.S. Department
Greeting from U.S Embassy,
THIS MAIL IS ONLY FOR THE OWNER OF THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS
with this SPECIAL REQ
EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
2 Walter Carrington Crescent Victoria Island, Nigeria
EMAIL: usaembassy.nig1444@gmail.com
DIRECT PHONE NO: +1 806 395 5147
DIRECT FAX NO +1 952 658 1344

Ref: FCC/10746/VCP3-21

IRREVOCABLE PAYMENT NOTICE:

DEAR SIR,

THIS IS SEQUEL TO THE MEETING WE HAD ON THURSDAY WITH THE DIRECTORS OF
MINISTRY OF FINANCE. I WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF YOUR
INHERITANCE FUND APPROVED BY THE NIGERIA GOVERNMENT FOR RELEASE TO YOU IS
ONLY $8.2 MILLION .WE HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE THIS ISSUE UPON OURSELVES TO
SAFEGUARD YOU FROM THESE CRIMINAL MINDED INDIVIDUALS WHOSE ONLY INTEREST
WAS TO EXTORT MONEY AND FEES FROM YOU.

THIS IS IN LINE WITH THE AGREEMENT I SIGNED WITH THE NIGERIA GOVERNMENT ON
MY ASSUMPTION OF OFFICE AS THE USA AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA, RESULTING FROM
COMPLAINS WE RECEIVED DAILY ON SCAMS IN NIGERIA AND IN AFRICA, ASIAN AND
EUROPE ETC.

SO YOU ARE HEREBY ADVISED TO CONTACT MY OFFICE ON THE ABOVE EMAIL AND PHONE
NUMBER, RECONFIRM,YOUR FULL NAME,YOUR MAILING/BILLING INFORMATION,DIRECT
PHONE/FAX NUMBERS THE NAME OF YOUR NEXT OF KIN AND A COPY OF YOUR
INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT OR DRIVERS LICENSE IDENTIFICATION FOR RECORD
PURPOSE AND EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF YOUR ATM CARD.

HOWEVER,ALWAYS KEEP ME POSTED AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE YOUR ATM CREDIT CARD
VALUE OF YOUR FUND.

WE HAVE CALCULATED AND APPROVED THE ARRIVAL OF YOUR ATM CARD TO BE WITHIN
THREE DAYS UPON THE RECEIPT OF THE ABOVE DETAILS.

REGARDS,

MRS MARY BETH LEONARD
New United States to (Nigeria)

Anti-fraud resources: