joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days
  jwSpamSpy

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:

Fraud email example:

From: "Andrew Weltzman IV." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <timothyutomi@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:47:01 +0100
Subject: Approved Compensation Payment.

UNION NIGERIA FINANCE {UNFN}, ABUJA NIGERIA.
PLOT 565, NDOLA SQUARE,
OFF MICHAEL OPARA STREET,
WUSE ZONE 5, ABUJA.
PMB 198, GARKI, ABUJA-NIGERIA.
Swift:CITNG28X82
Attention: Sir/Madam.
 
This is to Inform you that ATM Card Number: (5120 8156 1062 5647) worth USD$2.5Million  has been accredited to your favor, you are to contact Dr. Timothy Utomi on timothyutomi@yahoo.co.jp with the following information below.
 
1. Your Full Name.
2. Your Phone Number.
3. Your Delivery Address {Where you want the card to be sent to}.
4. Your Age, Sex and Occupation.
Regards
Andrew Weltzman IV.
Asst. Director of Information
UNION NIGERIA FINANCE {UNFN}, ABUJA NIGERIA.

Anti-fraud resources: