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: "Janice Lohan" <janice.lohan@googlemail.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 12:15:10 +0100
Subject: YOUR KIND ATTENTION IS NEEDED BY THE POOR


DEAR BELOVED,
I AM JANICE LOHAN ,I AM 56 YEARS OLD.I AM A CITIZEN OF ROMANIA,
BUT I AM RESIDING IN SOUTH AFRICA. I WAS
BORN AN ORPHAN AND GOD BLESSED ME ABUNDANTLY. BUT I AM NOT A HAPPY
MAN.I HAVE NO WIFE AND I HAVE NO CHILDREN.
AS AT NOW I AM SERIOUSLY SICK. I JUST CAME OUT OF THEHOSPITAL BACK TO
MY HOME . I AM SUFFERING FROM LUNG CANCER
AND I HAD PATIAL STROKE WHICH HAS AFFECTED MY SPEACH. I CAN NO LONGER
TALK.AND HALF OF MY BODY IS PARALYSED.
THE DOCTORS SAY I HAVE ABOUT 2 MOUNTHS TO LIVE. I SEND THIS EMAIL TO
YOU WITH THE HELP OF MY PRIVATE MALE NURSE
WHO IS TYPING MY REQUEST. I HAVE LITTLE TIME SO I HAVE COMMITTED IT TO
SPREADING MY WEALTH TOWARDS BETTER
HEALTH CARE FOR MANKIND.IN THE HOSPITAL WHERE I AM ,I HAVE GIVEN THE
MANAGEMENT US$15 MILLION TO UPGRADE AND
BUILD A NEW CANCER RESEACH FACILITY.I HAVE ALSO MADE SOME CASH
DONATIONS TO ORPHANAGE CHILDREN HOMES IN
SOMALIA, ETHIOPIA,SUDAN,AND SOME IN SOUTH AFRICA. I HAVE SUCCEDED IN
SPREADING MY LIQUID CASH TOWARDS WELL
DESERVED MEANS. MY SOUL IS HAPPY. WHAT I AM DOING GIVES ME JOY.I AM NOW
SHARING MY PROPERTIES AND VALUABLES.I
DONT KNOW YOU, BUT I AM CONTACTING YOU WITH THE HOPE THAT YOU WILL
CARRY OUT MY WISH FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY.
I HAVE 8 MILLION DOLLARS (USD ) DEPOSITED WITH A BANK IN ITALY. I WANT
YOU TO TAKE CUSTODY OF SOME AMOUNT OF
MONEY IN DOLLARS ( USD ) AND USE IT TO BUILD AND OPERATE(YOU COULD
LOOK FOR SOMEONE TO OPERATE IT IF YOU ARE
UNABLE TO) AN ORPHANAGE IN YOUR COUNTRY.YOU WILL NAME THE ORPHANAGE
JANICE LOHAN ORPHANAGE HOME. PLEASE NOTE
THAT I DID NOT TELL THE BANK WHAT I DEPOSITED WITH THEM, I DEPOSITED IT
AS FAMILY VALUABLE. YOU MUST FOLLOW MY
WISH FOR IT WILL GLADEN MY HEART.PLEASE IF YOU ARE READY TO CARRYOUT MY
WISH,
THEN SEND ME THIS INFORMATIONS.
[1]YOUR FULL NAME.....................
[2]YOUR PHONE AND FAX NUMBER................
[3]YOUR RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS..............
MAY GOD GUIDE US. SEND YOUR REPLY ALONG WITH YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS ONLY
TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS.
(j.lohan@btinternet.com<http://us.f520.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=j.lohan@btinternet.com&YY=41783&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b>
)
THANKS, I AWAIT YOUR QUICK RESPONSE TO THIS MAIL.
MY WARM GREETINGS,
Janice Lohan

Anti-fraud resources: