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: "Anna" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <missannaamin@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:30:55 +0800
Subject: I NEED YOUR HELP.

My dear,
I got your email from a personal research i made and felt you could be of help.
I decided to contact you because of the urgency of my situation here. First,let me introduce myself. I am Miss Anna Amin from Egypt. Daughter of late Mr. Abdel Rahman Amin. My father Mr. Abdel Rahman Amin died along with My mother Mr Alia Abdou.in Egypt Air Flight 990, air crash.For more information about this crash and person's you can contact this website):http://www.s-t.com/daily/11-99/11-02-99/a01ho011.htm.
I am constrained to contact you because of the maltreatment I am receiving from my step mother. She planned to take away all my late father's treasury and properties from me since the unexpected death of my beloved Father and mother. Presently,I am in the refugee camp where I am presently seeking asylum under the United Nations High Commission.I wish to contact you personally for a long term business relationship and investment assistance in your Country. However, I shall forward you with the necessary documents on confirmation of your acceptance to assist me for the transfer and investment of the fund. This is the reason why I decided to contact you. Please for now,all communications should be through this email address only for confidential purposes.
As soon as I receive your positive response showing your interest, I will put things in action immediately. In the light of the above, I shall appreciate an urgent message indicating your ability and willingness to handle this transaction sincerely.
Awaiting your urgent and positive response.
Yours Sincerely,
Miss Anna Amin.

Anti-fraud resources: