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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: "Phillip Pikoli." <awdre@ojincheke.com>
Reply-To: <p2p11001@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:47:07 +0200
Subject: Ref: Investment Enquiry

Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Mr. Phillip Pikoli and I work for the Department of Minerals and Energy in Johannesburg , South Africa . It is my desire to investment some funds(US$25.5 MILLION) in your country. This fund acquired legitimately by us as commission from foreign contractors, who performed some contract jobs for our department.
The fund is presently waiting to be remitted from the bank here in South Africa to any overseas beneficiary confirmed by us as associate/receiver. By virtue of our positions as civil servants in my country, we cannot acquire this money in our names because as high placed civil servants, we are not allowed by the civil service code of conduct to own such huge amount of money. On the other hand, it is not safe for us to keep the money here due to unstable political environment.
I have been mandated as a matter of trust by my colleagues, to look for a Foreign silent Business partner who could work with us to facilitate the transfer of this fund in his name as a beneficiary for our mutual benefit, Hence the reason for this email.
I would like you to respond back through my email address as indicated below for more details. If you are interested in this transaction .
Yours Sincerely,
Phillip Pikoli.

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