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: "Sgt Richard murphy" <sgtrichardmurphy11@msn.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 10:50:37 +0000
Subject: Urgent and Confidential from Sgt Richard Murphy.

Urgent and Confidential from Sgt Richard Murphy.
 
Good Day,
 
I hope my email meets you well. I am in need of your assistance. My name is Sgt Richard Murphy, I am in the Military Engineering Unit here Baghdad, Iraq. We have about $15 Million US dollars that we want to move out of the country. My colleagues and I need a good partner, someone we can trust. This is a risk free and legal business (oil money).
 
But we are moving it through diplomatic means, to send it to your house directly or a bank of your choice using diplomatic courier service. The most important thing is that can we trust you? Once the funds get to you, you take your 50% out and keep our own 50%. Your own part of this deal is to find a safe place where the funds can be kept. Our own part is sending it to you. If you are interested, I will furnish you with more details. The whole process is simple and you must please ensure strict confidentiality at all times.
 
I look forward to your reply and co-operation, and I thank you in
advance as I anticipate your co-operation. You can reach me on via email:
sgtrichardmurphy@netscape.net
 
 
Waiting for your urgent response.
 
Best regards,
 
Sgt Richard Murphy.

Anti-fraud resources: