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: sgt john <sjohnguy44@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:32:13 +0300
Subject: SGT JOHN GUY USA EMAIL: coprivacy@pc.nu



DEAR SIR/MADAM,
MY NAME IS JOHN J. GUY I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER, I AM SERVING IN THE MILITARY OF THE 3RD ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMIENT, PATROLS TAL AFAR, IN IRAQ.I AM PRESENTLY IN KUWAIT FOR THE MEAN TIME. I APOLOGIZED USING THIS MEDIUM TO REACH YOU FOR A TRANSACTION/BUSINESS OF THIS MAGNITUDE.PLEASE IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED DO IGNORE THIS LETTER BUT IF YOU ARE INTERESTED CONTACT ME BEFORE SEVEN DAYS OR I WILL CONTACT ANOTHER PERSON.
PLEASE VIEW THIS LINK TO SEE MY PICTURE: http://www4.army.mil/armyimages/armyimage.php?photo=9169 http://www4.army.mil/armyimages/armyimage.php?photo=7990.WE HAVE IN OUR POSSESSION THE SUM OF US$25,000,000.00 (TWENTY FIVE MILLION US DOLLARS), WHICH BELONGS TO SADDAM HUSSEIN. THESE FUNDS HAVE BEEN MOVED AND KEPT SAFE IN A SECURITY COMPANY, PLEASE VIEW THIS LINK FOR MORE DETAILS: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm)
BASICALLY SINCE WE ARE WORKING FOR THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, WE CANNOT KEEP THESE FUNDS, BUT WE WANT TO TRANSFER AND MOVE THE FUNDS TO YOU, SO THAT YOU CAN KEEP IT FOR US IN YOUR SAFE ACCOUNT OR AN OFFSHORE ACCOUNT.
I HAVE THE AUTHORITY OF MY PARTNERS INVOLVED TO PROPOSE THAT SHOULD YOU BE WILLING TO ASSIST US IN THIS TRANSACTION, THE RATIO OF SHARE WILL BE DISCUSS LATER AFTER I HEAR FROM YOU REST ASSURE THAT THIS BUSINESS IS 100% SAFE ON YOUR PART PROVIDED YOU TREAT IT WITH UTMOST SECRECY AND CONFIDENTIALITY.
THEREFORE, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, SEND US YOUR FULL NAME, CURRENT MAILING ADDRESS AND YOUR TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBERS FOR EASY COMMUNICATION.RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL: coprivacy@pc.nuUPON YOUR RESPONSE, I SHALL THEN PROVIDE YOU WITH MORE DETAILS THAT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE TRANSACTION. PLEASE OBSERVE UTMOST CONFIDENTIALITY, AND BE REST ASSURED THAT THIS BUSINESS IS RISK FREE.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
SGT. JOHN J. GUY
_________________________________________________________________
With Windows Live Hotmail, you can personalize your inbox with your favorite color.
www.windowslive-hotmail.com/learnmore/personalize.html?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGLM_HMWL_reten_addcolor_0607

Anti-fraud resources: