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: "Gadaffi" <bim.suleiman@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <salamigadaffi@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:34:25 -0800
Subject: Important Information

Dear Sir,
I saw your email address written in a piece of paper in one of my late husband’s files (not sure if I got it right) but I presume you are either his friend or a business associate. My name is Salami Gaddafi, one of the unofficial wives of the late ruler of Libya. I am sure you know what NATO and their allies are doing to the Gaddafi family and assets after they killed him. I would like to know if you can be trusted and reliable with helping my son and i secure and save one of my late husband’s undisclosed cash deposits in a bank in Ghana.
My situation at moment is miserable as I am hiding and sleeping in dungeons to avoid being seen or killed as they are still searching for anything related to the Gaddafi family.We all know he lived a life that not many people admired. I want to be able to give my kid a better life and hope. He should not surfer for the sins of his father. I will provide you with all the required documents to act as a trustee to the account granting you authority to transfer the funds to your desired bank account overseas and arrange for travel documents in new names to get us out of here to a new country.
It is my intention to compensate you with 30% of the total money for your assistance and the balance would be invested in any profitable venture in your Country
Please, email me with your response ASAP and I will give you a number where you can reach us.
Thanks in Anticipation to your urgent response to this proposition
Salami

Anti-fraud resources: