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: MERCEDES BENZ LOTTERY <benz.ltd101@live.com>
Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 00:13:37 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: YOU HAVE WON

MERCEDES BENZ LOTTERY HEADQUARTERS 2010
The Marina Offices, St Peters Yacht Basin,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 1HX England
REFERENCE NUMBER:UK/0147X4/74
BATCH NUMBER:014/070/AY7

We are pleased to inform you today May 17th 2010,in respect of the just conducted lottery draw, a lump sum pay out of 1,000 000 (One million Pounds Sterling) has been awarded to your email ID, by the MERCEDES BENZ ONLINE PROMO PROGRAMME, held on the 1st of May,2010.

You have therefore been approved of 1,000 000 (One Million Pounds Sterling) in cash credited to file YL/26510460037/09 .
To file for your claim, please contact our claims agent;

Name : Michael Fox
Email : benz.ltd101@live.com
TEL : +44-701-427-5373

Provide him with the information below:

REFERENCE NUMBER:UK/0147X4/74
BATCH NUMBER:014/070/AY7
TICKET NUMBER:005-4432-971-878

1.Full Name:
2.Full Address:
3.Marital Status
4.Occupation:
5.Age:
6.Sex:
7.Nationality:
8.Country Of Residence:
9.Telephone Number:

Congratulations once more from all members and staff of this program.


Sincerely,
MARIAN JONES
MERCEDES BENZ OFFICE




Anti-fraud resources: