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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "Jennifer D. Aka" <jenniferaka2005@mixmail.com> (may be fake)
Date: Mon, 2 May 2005 05:10:38 +0200
Subject: I want to collaborate with you

Sir,
Its my wish that you find time and convenience to go through this mail which is intended to be of mutual benefit to you and me. I am AKA Diby Vivian. I work in the Tele Communication of Ivory Coast (Citelcom) in senior staff cadre. I want to collaborate with you in a money transfer deal which I strongly believe will be of great benefit to both of us.
I headed a committee that awarded some contracts, for my department, to foreign contractors few years back. I deliberately inflated the value of these contracts with the intention of keeping the balance to myself. Fortunately enough these contracts have been successfully completed and contractors paid. Now I want to claim the balance hence contacting you. I would want you to stand as one of the contractors that worked for Citelcom and submit your claims for payment. The amount for claim is US$16Million.
If this appeals to your interest and you wish to collaborate with me I will direct you on how to submit the claims. I should assure you that every modality, on the execution of this plan without problem, has been worked out.
It is my humble appeal that you observe religiously the high level of secrecy required in this transaction for us to succeed.
Thanks.
AKA DIBY VIVIAN.



Anti-fraud resources: