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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: Wilfrid Azor <mailwilfridazor@yahoo.co.uk>
Reply-To: mailwilfridazor@i12.com
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:39:23 +0200
Subject: Re: Message



My email may sound astonishing to you but please, this is for real.
There is this floating fund which is to the tune of Fourteen Million Seven
Hundred Thousand Pounds (14,700,000.00 British Pounds) which has been floating
in this A/C n:5005874SB1000 with Chipps Bank London, since 2005, after
the death
of the true owner of the funds, who bears the same last name with you. During
the bank private search for the relative recently, your name and email contact
was among the findings that match. I found out that nobody has ever come on
behalf of the late deceased as his next of kin to claim the funds and I have
been monitoring this account since I discovered this information.
View the website for more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5171222.stm
Reply urgently.
Wilfrid Azor.

Anti-fraud resources: