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. Stephen Mensah" <stephmensah01@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2022 01:20:55 -0700
Subject: MY REGARDS TO YOU

Greetings friend.

How are you doing today and I hope you're having a great day? My name
is Mr. Stephen Mensah, a Bank Officer here in Ghana. I got your
contact from a business directory and I decided to contact you through
your email address.

However, I'm seeking your support and co-operation towards a private
business transaction that we will both stand to gain tremendously on
the success of the transaction. Please if interested do not hesitate
to indicate by calling or whatsapp me for full details. +233276274159.

Am waiting to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Mr. Stephen Mensah,
The Regional Manager,
Tema Branch, Accra

Anti-fraud resources: