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: MACAU MACAU CELEBRATION <macaucelebrationcertificates@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:08:20 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re:{Spam?} MACAU WINNERS AWARD CERTIFICATE - CONTACT THE PAY


DEAR WINNER,

WE QUITE UNDERSTAND YOUR SITUATION AND YOUR EXPLAINATIONS, BUT THE ISSUE REMAINS THAT YOU ARE AMONG THE LUCKY WINNERS OF THE LOTTERY, SO YOU DONT NEED TO BE AFRAID, WHATEVER THAT HAS HAPPENED IN YOUR LIFE IN THE PAST, YOU TRY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO PUT BEHIND YOU AND MOVE AHEAD.

THIS IS A WINNING, ALTHOUGH WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT OF BUSINESS TRANSACTION THAT WENT ON BETWEEN YOU AND THE AFRICAN MAN, YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT AFRICANS ARE VERY WICKED, BUT ON THIS ISSUE DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO FEAR ABOUT, YOU WON THE LOTTERY.

PLEASE CONTACT THE BANK WITH THE INFORMATIONS ALREADY GIVEN TO YOU.

THANK YOU
DR JOHNY CHEI


---------------------------------
Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with Yahoo! FareChase.

Anti-fraud resources: