419 scam: "Mrs. Van Horn"<mrsvan.horn@btinternet.com> We Receive Your Information Do Reply,

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

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:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Van Horn" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrsvan.horn@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2010 18:54:06 +0100
Subject: We Receive Your Information Do Reply,

Attention Dear,

Your family name appears on my desk two days ago Through (IMF) office International Monetary Fund that you are among people approved to be paid USD$800,000.00 Signed by the President of Nigeria for compensation of your family scam victim,Based on the outcome of the resolution, joint accord was reached by the United States of America Government (USA), British Government, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) with Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to pay concerned beneficiaries.

You are advice to fill your information below for the approval document which will guild you receiving your funds from the paying bank with out any delay.

(a) First Name

(b) Last Name:

(c) Office/Residential Mailing Address

(d) Tel, Mobile/Fax Numbers

Yours faithfully,

Mrs.Van Horn

(IMF STAFF)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam