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: "Jean Mcclean" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <madammcclean@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 09:57:53 +0800
Subject: I CHOOSE YOU


THIS LETTER MIGHT COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE DUE TO THE FACT THAT YOU DONT KNOW ME EITHER DO I KNOW YOU BUT MY SPIRIT DIRECTED ME TO RANDOMLY PICK SOMEONE AND MY MIND CHOOSED YOU AMONG DIFFERENT EMAILADDRESS THAT I VIEWED ON THE WEBSITE. I AM PRESENTLY IN A HOSPITAL TYPING THIS MAIL TO YOU WITH MY LAPTOP. I AM MRS JEAN MCCLEAN FROM COLOMBIA, A WIDOW TO LATE PATRICK MCCLEAN, I WAS BROUGHT UP FROM A MOTHERLESS HOME, AM AN AGED WOMAN SUFFERING FROM LONG TIME CANCER OF THE BREAST. MY CONDITION IS REALLY DETERIORATING AND ACCORDING TO MY DOCTORS IN ALL INDICATION REGARDS TO MEDICAL ANALYSIS, IT IS QUITE OBVIOUS THAT I MIGHT NOT LIVE MORE THAN FEW MONTHS. THIS IS BECAUSE THE CANCER HAS GOTTEN TO A VERY BAD STAGE.

MY LATE HUSBAND DIED DURING THE HURRICANE DISASTER IN NEW ORLEANS, THE MOST PAINFUL PART WAS THAT WE COULD NOT PRODUCE ANY CHILD BEFORE I LOST HIM. LATE PATRICK WAS VERY WEALTHY AND BEFORE HIS DEATH, I DEPOSITED THE SUM OF $4.8M (FOUR MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS) WITH A BANK IN UK WHICH WE BOTH PLANNED TO USE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POOR HOMES. SINCE THE DOCTORS HAS ADVISED ME THAT I MAY NOT LIVE FOR MORE THAN FEW MONTHS, I CHOOSED FROM MY MIND TO GIVE THIS MISSON OUT TO SOMEONE I DONT KNOW THAN MY WICKED HUSBAND'S RELATIONS IN UK. DEAREST IN CHRIST, I WILL WANT YOU TO HELP ME RECEIVE THIS FUNDS AND DONATE IT TO DIFFERENT CHARITY ORGANISATIONS. THIS MONEY IS CURRENTLY IN NATWEST BANK. I REALLY DONT KNOW HOW YOU FEEL AS YOU READ THIS MESSAGE BUT I WILL LOOK FOR SOMEONE ELSE IF I DONT GET YOUR REPLY ON TIME. FOR SECURITY REASONS, PLEASE REPLY TO MY PRIVATE EMAIL BELOW: mothermcclean@gmail.com

GOD BLESS YOU
MRS JEAN MCCLEAN

Anti-fraud resources: