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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: Melinda Marquez <melindamarquez@in.com>
Reply-To: melindamarquez20111@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2011 17:16:47 +0100 (BST)
Subject: HI


Hi

From Mrs Melinda Marquez;

Attention,
 
 My name is Mrs.MELINDA  MARQUEZ, I am a Filipino citizen and my husband died on 07 May 2007, He was a wealthy heir and businessman at the head of a large holding.
My husband fell seriously ill and was taken to Europe for intensive care, but he later died of his illness and was buried. So I inherited from my late husband the sum of U.S. $3,000,000.00 USD. (Three  Million U.S. dollars).

 This deposit was coded under a secret arrangement that my Briefcase contains only family property. This means that the company itself does not know the exact contents of the box because it was shipped to Europe in a diplomatic assurance and declared as containing family property.Also, the main reason why I send you this letter is that, having more confidence in my surroundings here in the Philippines , I find myself at an impasse and I would like you to help me quietly to take my Briefcase money to a place much more discreet and stable in your country where I can start investing.

I will send you in my next email, the informations covering the transaction and also the contact of security company in Europe so that you can contact them for the immediate dispatch of the box for you to secure it.

Meanwhile  we will discuss in advance the percentage that I will give you of the total amount ,for your assistance.

if your able and capable for such transactional deal, indicate your genuineness and willingness by providing me your full information as listed below for self assurance of whom I am trusting because I only discovered your E-mail address where you registered it.

 

Your full name………………………………

Country………………………………………

Age………………………………………………………………

Marital status…………………………………………………


Thank you very much for your cooperation and I look forward to hearing from you for the conclusion of this transaction.
 
Yours
Mrs Melinda Marquez

Anti-fraud resources: