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: "Alex Idamudia" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <aidamudia@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 06:37:23 -0400
Subject: Message From Alex Idamudia

Good day,

My name is Mr. Alex Idamudia; A manager with one of the
major banks in South Africa. I am in a position to perfect
the Move a large sum of money out of the vault of my bank
legally. The money was owned by a customer who died long
ago and we couldn't get trace of anyone to claim his money,
despite desperate search for a next of kin.

The rules and ethics of our banking regulations demands that,
after 8yrs of unclaimed funds (money) the money would be
forfeited to the Bank and declared surplus, Since I am the
manager who is in charge of this unclaimed money, I have
perfected legally means of making you stand as the next of
kin to the late fellow as a foreigner.

This is risk free as all legal backings are present and would
be detailed to you once I have gained your trust and certainty
that we can be friends and trust in you. You would be handsomely
rewarded with 30% of the total sum. I will disclose some vital
information about the late owner of the funds and how he died
and the name of my bank once I have gained your trust.
Please in your reply let me have your full contact details and
telephone numbers, so I can explain further all that this
transaction entails.

Thanks as I expect your utmost response to my e-mail.

Warmest Regards,
Mr. Alex Idamudia.
Email: aidamudia@aol.com
Email: capitec@live.co.za

Anti-fraud resources: