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: Sgt Nelson Dillion <sgtnelsondillion@us.army.mil>
Reply-To: sgtnelson.us.army.mil@live.com
Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 06:10:56 +0200
Subject:

READ CAREFULLY AND REPLY URGENTLY!

MY NAME IS (STAFF SGT.) SGT. NELSON DILLION, I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER, SERVING
IN THE MILITARY WITH THE ARMY'S 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION. I HAVE A VERY DESPERATE
NEED FOR ASSISTANCE AND HAVE SUMMED UP COURAGE TO CONTACT YOU.I FOUND YOUR
CONTACT PARTICULARS IN AN ADDRESS JOURNAL AND I AM SEEKING YOUR KIND
ASSISTANCE
TO MOVE THE SUM OF FIFTEEN MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS
(US$15,000,000) TO YOU
IN UNITED STATES, AS FAR AS I CAN BE ASSURED THAT MY SHARE WILL BE
SAFE IN YOUR
CARE UNTIL I COMPLETE MY SERVICE HERE.

SOURCE OF MONEY:
SOME MONEY IN VARIOUS CURRENCIES WERE DISCOVERED IN BARRELS AT A
FARMHOUSE NEAR
ONE OF SADDAM'S OLD PALACES IN TIKE'S-IRAQ DURING A RESCUE OPERATION, AND IT
WAS AGREED BY STAFF SGT KENNETH BUFF AND I THAT SOME PART OF THIS MONEY BE
SHARED BETWEEN BOTH OF US BEFORE INFORMING ANYBODY ABOUT IT SINCE BOTH OF US
SAW THE MONEY FIRST. THIS WAS QUITE AN ILLEGAL THING TO DO, BUT I TELL YOU
WHAT! NO COMPENSATION CAN MAKE UP FOR THE RISK WE HAVE TAKEN WITH OUR LIVES IN
THIS HELL HOLE, FROM NEXT WEEK WILL WE BE MOVING TO AFGHANISTAN,FOR PEACE
KEEPING

THE ABOVE FIGURE WAS GIVEN TO ME AS MY SHARE, AND TO CONCEAL THIS KIND
OF MONEY
BECAME A PROBLEM FOR ME BUT WITH THE HELP OF A BRITISH CONTACT WORKING
HERE AND
WITH HIS OFFICE ENJOYING SOME IMMUNITY, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE PACKAGE OUT TO A
SAFE LOCATION ENTIRELY OUT OF TROUBLE SPOT. HE DOES NOT KNOW THE REAL CONTENTS
OF THE PACKAGE, AND BELIEVES THAT IT BELONGS TO A BRITISH/AMERICAN MEDICAL
DOCTOR WHO DIED IN A RAID HERE IN IRAQ, AND BEFORE GIVING UP, TRUSTED ME TO
HAND OVER THE PACKAGE TO HIS FAMILY IN UNITED STATES. I HAVE NOW FOUND A VERY
SECURED WAY OF GETTING THE PACKAGE OUT OF IRAQ TO YOU AT HOME FOR YOU TO PICK
UP, AND I WILL DISCUSS THIS WITH YOU WHEN I AM SURE THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO
ASSIST ME AND THAT MY MONEY WILL BE
WELL SECURED IN YOUR HAND.

I WANT YOU TO TELL ME HOW MUCH YOU WILL TAKE FROM THIS MONEY FOR THE
ASSISTANCE
YOU WILL GIVE TO ME. ONE PASSIONATE APPEAL I WILL MAKE TO YOU IS NOT
TO DISCUSS
THIS MATTER WITH ANYBODY, SHOULD YOU HAVE REASONS TO REJECT THIS OFFER, PLEASE
AND PLEASE DESTROY THIS MESSAGE AS ANY LEAKAGE OF THIS INFORMATION WILL BE TOO
BAD FOR THE U.S. SOLDIER'S HERE IN IRAQ. I DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG WE WILL REMAIN
HERE, MONTH OF MAY WAS THE EADLIEST MONTH FOR US OUT HERE. TOTALLY, WE
LOST 127
MEN AND I HAVE BEEN SHOT, WOUNDED AND SURVIVED TWO SUICIDE BOMB ATTACKS BY THE
SPECIAL GRACE OF GOD. THIS AND OTHER REASONS I WILL MENTION LATER HAS PROMPTED
ME TO REACH OUT FOR HELP.I HONESTLY WANT THIS MATTER TO BE RESOLVED
IMMEDIATELY, PLEASE CONTACT ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WITH MY PRIVATE E-MAIL-
ADDRESS WHICH IS MY ONLY WAY OF COMMUNICATION (E-MAIL:sgtdillonne@live.com)

REGARD
SGT. NELSON DILLION
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

Anti-fraud resources: