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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: "Mr.Peter Atwood" <pin_pin2011@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: atwood_71@mail.kz
Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2011 04:18:12 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Hello Friend, Can I Trust You?




Hello
Friend,
Can
I
Trust
You?

ATTENTION:RE:Transfer
of
30,000,000.00
pounds
to
your
Account.

I
am
MR.PETER
ATWOOD,
the
Executive
Auditor
and
head
of
computing
department,
bank
here
in
United
Kingdom.
This
email
is
strictly
confidential
and
is
for
your
attention
only.
I
am
making
this
venture
proposal
to
you,
as
a
reliable
partner.
I
got
your
e-mail
address
through
my
search
for
a
reliable
person/company
in
your
country,
who
can
be
capable
to
do
this
transaction
with
me.
I
wish
to
transfer
a
huge
amount
of
thirty
million
pounds
sterling
(£30,000,000.00).Which
belongs
to
Late
Mr.
John
Hughes,
the
Director
and
owner
of
petrochemical
service
from
Australia.
Who
died
since
1998
without
a
well.
Through
my
investigation,
I
found
out
that
nobody
knows
about
this
account.
And
I
am
his
personal
account
manager
and
I
have
with
me
all
the
files
concerning
this
fund.

However,
if
you
are
interested
in
this
business
we
will
start
the
first
money
transfer
with
Ten
Million
Pounds
Sterling
[£10,000.000]
upon
successful
transaction
without
any
disappointment
from
you.
We
shall
also
re-apply
for
the
payment
of
the
remaining
amount
to
your
bank
account.

But
if
you
can
be
honest,
I
will
inform
you
the
next
step
to
take,
while
you
providing
a
preferable
empty
bank
account
of
your
choice
where
you
want
the
fund
to
be
transferred,
including
your
private
telephone
and
fax
number.
After
this
transaction
must
have
been
achieved,
you
will
be
given
35%
of
the
total
amount,
60%
will
be
for
me,
while
5%
will
be
for
expenses
both
parties
might
have
incurred
during
this
process,
and
I
want
you
to
understand
that
this
transaction
is
100%
risky
&
trouble
free,
hence
we
are
going
to
follow
the
normal
transfer
process.

I
need
a
strong
assurance
from
you
that
you
will
never
let
me
down
hence;
the
money
is
transferred
into
your
nominated
bank
account.
Moreover
I
will
be
in
your
country
immediately
the
fund
is
transferred
into
your
bank
account
for
the
withdrawing
and
sharing
of
the
money
in
your
subscribed
banks
and
other
investment.

Kindly
reply
me
explaining
your
interest
to
be
part
of
this
business.
Contact
me
urgently
for
further
detail
through
my
E-mail.[pinpin_peter@mail2world.com]
OR
[atwood_att1@mail.kz].
Thanks
and
God
bless.
Sincerely
Yours,
Mr.
Peter
Atwood.


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