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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. Alexander Smith" <mrpetercollns@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mr_kimwong@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2023 22:53:20 +0100
Subject: Thanks for reading through

--
You may be surprised to receive this mail from me, but it is a matter
that I am convinced we can solve if we work together in harmony.
However, I seek for your absolute confidence as I introduce myself to
you. I sourced your profile from a human resource database in the
Internet. I am Mr. Alex Smith an Auditor of a Bank.

In the discharge of my duty as the Auditor, I stumbled on this
domiciliary account belonging to a foreign businessman that has
remained dormant for four years now with Forty million US dollars
(US$40) in it. Staff for enquiries about the said fund, and it was
discovered that the account holder died in an accident. I am writing
to you so that we can work together to remit the money to you as the
next of kin because this money belongs to a foreigner and has to be
claimed by a foreigner.

I guarantee this transaction under a legitimate arrangement that will
not bridge the law by both parties. I have options to offer you, first
you can choose to have a certain percentage of the money for your
assistance, or you can go into partnership for a proper profitable
Investment of the money. Whatever option you choose, feel free to
notify me.

It is a simple process which will take a short while to process. To
indicate your interest to work with us, please forward your reply,
your confidential telephone and home or office addresses to enable me
communicate with you easily. I will give you more details regarding on
what to do and how to do it for us to achieve good success about the
transaction as soon as I hear from you.

Note, on the event that you cannot assist me to do the business, I beg
you to still keep my contact and existence of this fund a secret.

Best Regards,

Mr. Alex Smith

Anti-fraud resources: