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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: "Mrs. Pamela Campbell" <info@hotelkarlaplan.se>
Reply-To: pamelacampbell008@yahoo.es
Date: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 22:21:27 +0100
Subject: My dearest in Chris!


Greetings Beloved, My name is Mrs. Pamela Campbell., widow to late D=
r. Martin Campbell, a Petroleum & Gas investor, here in Asia & Mid-East. I'=
m 62years old, suffering from long time Cancer of the breast. From all indi=
cations my condition is really deteriorating and its quite obvious that I w=
on't live more than 3 months according to my doctors. This is because the c=
ancer stage has gotten to a very bad stage. I dont want your pity but I nee=
d your trust. My late husband died early last year from Heart attack, a=
nd during the period of our marriage we couldn't produce any child. My late=
husband was very wealthy and after his death, I inherited all his business=
es and wealth .Before my late husband died he was major oil tycoon in Asia =
& Mid-East. He made a deposit in a finance company some years ago. Pre=
sently, this money is still with the finance company and the management wro=
te me as the legitimate beneficiary to my late husband estate to come forwa=
rd to receive the money for safe keeping. It has attracted a demur-rage as =
the security fee paid by me has expired. I rather issue a letter of authori=
zation to somebody to receive it on my behalf since I cannot come over beca=
use of my illness or they get it confiscated. I need you to collect these a=
ssets and distribute it yourself to charity so that when I die my soul can =
rest in peace. The assets will be entirely in your hands and management. =
The doctor has advised me that I'll not live for more than one month, so =
I've now decided to spread all my wealth, to contribute mainly to the devel=
opment of charity in Africa, America, Asia, Oceania and Europe. I hope God =
gives you the wisdom to use this opportunity and touch many lives; that is =
all my main concern now. 20% of this assets value will be for your time and=
effort, while 80% goes to charity. Am sorry if you're embarrassed by m=
y letter. I found your profile and it pique my interest, and I've decided t=
o contact you, but if for any reason you find this mail offensive, you can =
ignore it and please accept my apology. You can get back to me at pamel=
acampbell52@07168.cn God bless you. Mrs. Pamela Campbell. =20

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