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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: "James Mclean" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <providencefund1971@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:39:30 +0100
Subject: Reply if you need this loan

Dear Sir/ Madam
In order to meet up with their Millennium Development Goals and reduce the rate of
unemployment and to reduce poverty, the Paris and London Clubs decided to set up a fund totaling Three Hundred Billion United States Dollars to be given out in form of grants to prospective beneficiaries. These include individuals and corporate organizations. These grants will be issued on every quarter of the year 2011.

Note that we may have obtained your email contact through any of this media.
To qualify for a loan, an individual must be above 25 year of age, presently earning a
minimum of One thousand dollars (US), must have an international passport with a bank
account and must have resided at least ten year in his or her present country of residence.
More so, corporate organizations must be legally registered to qualify with a working capital
of not less then twenty thousand dollars and a staff strength of not less than three workers
and must have been operating for at least two years and must have a permanent address
contact address (not P.O box).Depending on the total income of a beneficiary, no individual is entitled to more than one million dollars and no corporate body is entitled to more than fifty million dollars. If you are interested in availing yourself or your business with this wonderful opportunity, write and notify us now and a detailed form shall be sent to you after which will be begin to process your loan.
Yours Faithfully
James Mcleans
For, Providence Fund Administrators.
London


Anti-fraud resources: