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: Patrice Ble <miss_dennisjon@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Patrice Ble <patriceblw@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 2015 01:56:11 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Seeking your help,


Transfer of US$17,597,000.00

It's my pleasure to acquaint you with this proposal for a financial and business gain, I truly understand the inconvenience this letter might cause you since the media is not safe to protect the confidentiality needed for the transfer of an undeniably sum left in the bank. Actually it is against my official duty to release information of a classified secret concerning the sum above to unauthorized hence intended to whom it may concern or addressed to but I am tempted to seize this opportunity to negotiate the relocation of the sum to you, if you can promise to accord the transaction with utmost secrecy you can afford until the money is transferred on your behalf, upon receipt of your response indicating your interest and willingness, I will furnish you with relevant information you may need to enable you erase any form of fear or doubt.
I hope to hear from you.

My regards,
Patrice Ble

Anti-fraud resources: