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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "From Samuel Harei," <soul4h@mail.vu> (may be fake)
Reply-To: soul4harei@yahoo.co.nz
Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 16:18:14 +0400
Subject: From Samuel Harei An Orphan

From Samuel Harei,
It is my pleasure to write you, I introduce myself to you as Mr.Samuel Harei, I am a national of republic of IVORY COAST in Africa am writing you from a neighboring AFRICAN country where I have been staying since the Coup attempt in my country since few year ago. I got your email through Internet. I am writing you to request you to help me to move out of AFRICA to your country, my late fathers property valued US$10.9million which my late father brought from my country to keep in this neighboring country Ghana for safety few weeks before the coup attempt in my country. My late father was killed together with my mother and all my brothers by the coup plotters when they attacked my family residence. My younger sister and I was the only surviving member of my family because we were away from home when the soldiers attacked my family. Few weeks before the attempted coup, my father for security reasons moved all his valuable items out of my country to republi!
c of Ghana and kept it in a security company in Accra Ghana for safekeeping.He was a cocoa farmer.We fled my country to Ghana after my family was attacked and killed and have been staying here since then for safety of my life because the coup plotters have taken control of my region. The condition in which my father deposited the item in this neighboring country makes it difficult for me to move it out from Ghana to your country without the Assistance of a capable person from your country and this is why I am writing you to request for your assistance. I wait for your reply
Best regards
Samuel Harei.




Anti-fraud resources: