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"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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Williams Baron" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <williamsbaronoffice@avasmail.com.mv>
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:45:33 -0700
Subject: Approval Letter

Dear Sir/ Madam

I am Williams Baron, Protocol Officer, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). I just got an approval letter for the release of your partial payment of $10.5 Million.

Now all process for your payment is at the verge of completion. Please contact

NAME: Karen Washington
EMAIL: karenwashington@sify.com
DIRECTOR FDIC
NEW YORK

By contacting the director then you are ready to fulfil all the necessary transfer obligations in line with the fund release procedure according to the rules and regulation governing the policy of fund release.

Important Notice: You have to desist from further comunication with any other officer(s) or institution(s) and keep every correspondence and communication highly confidential untill you receive your fund intact.

Regards
Willims Baron



Anti-fraud resources: