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: Helen Johnson <helenjohnsonn661@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 12:00:21 +0000
Subject: Urgent respond

Hello Dear,


I am Miss.Helen johnson, 24 years old, a Sociology student,from Guinea
Bissau.My father of blessed memory by name late Mr. Paul johnson who was
the former deputy minister of national security under the leadership of
president Kumba Yalla who is now facing judgement at the international
court of justice for war crime and abusing human rights.I am constrained to
contact you because of the maltreatment am receiving from my step
mother.She planned to take away all my fathers treasury and assets from me
since the unexpected death of my Father.Meanwhile,I wanted to travell to
Europe but she hid my international passport and other valuable travelling
documents,luckily she couldn't discover where I kept my fathers file.


I am now writing you from Ivory Coast where I escaped to through road, and
now seeking hiding in a private charity organization under Catholic church
in Ivory Coast here in abidjan.
So I am now in search of an honest and reliable person who will help to
relocate me in any of the western or any other place in the world, for a
better life and to continue my studies, I have chosen to contact you after
getting your email through a database,
and I believe you are a reliable person who will not let me down or betray
my trust, I know you may wonder why I am telling you about all this, even
without seeing or knowing you fully well, really something in me tells me
that you are a good person and I guess I am not wrong.


Briefly, I will like to disclose little more about myself to you and see if
you can help me to relocate to your country so as to continue with my
studies and have a new life, and please this is a little secret and I plead
with you to keep it to yourself alone until everything is properly arranged
and executed, then I will come over to join you in your country. I have the
sum of $5.7Million as an inheritance from my late father which I will like
to invest in your country with your help, the reason why I need your help
is based on the instruction my late father gave to the bank to release the
fund to me at the age of 24 and through a foreigner who can help me to
invest the fund wisely,


I can not be able to make this claim because of my refugee status. This
fund is deposited in my late father's bank account with one of the banks
here in Ivory coast and I am going to give you all the details / contact
because I want the money to be transferred to your account before I come
over to join you in your country, I need your urgent answer of your ability
to handle this for me so that I will tell you the next step because I want
to leave this refugee camp as soon as possible, life here is to me a hell,
no love, no affection and no amenities, more importantly, I love my studies
and here nothing is happening and people here are not friendly,I am really
suffering in this place, it is too painful, but I hope with your help to
transferring the fund in your account,I will have a better life to live so
kindly let me know your readiness to help me and I promise to always be
nice and faithful to you I will send to you a copy of my photo as soon I
receive your positive respond .

please email at helenjohnsonn4464@yahoo.com

Finally if you are willing to help me i will like you to tell me the
percentage you want.

Yours Sincerely,
Helen johnson

Anti-fraud resources: