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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. Houska Richard" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <houskarich@bigpond.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 15:50:25 -0600
Subject: Re: READ CAREFULLY

EUROPEAN UNION POLICE
  (Department for Internet Scam & Financial Crime)
  Paseo de la Castellana, 64
   Madrid – 28046, Spain
   Tel/Fax: +34 917 903975
                                                                                                                                                                  Madrid Date: 10/02/2014
Ref: Europol/Int.Sc/FC-ES/14
Dear Beneficiary,
 
This department is glad to inform you today that a New Payment Policy has been adopted and you are short listed for a compensation payment benefit sum of €800,000.00 (Eight Hundred Thousand Euros) Only under the funding assistance by the World Bank/ European Union.
 
This might interest you to know that the European Union Police (EUROPOL) in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted series of probing and investigation process in all the internet saver providers in Africa, Europe and Asia and your E-mail address was recovered among the Spam violated list by some unlawful and uncivilized Africans who are incapable of creating any decent job to earn an honest living, rather they choose to abuse the use of internet. We are in no doubt believed that these internet imposters /fraud stars from Africa and their neighboring countries must have collected a lot of money from you through their criminal and evil ways. Our investigation also revealed that you are under an obligation to pay huge amount for taxes.
As a result of this discovery which exposed the fact that you have spent so much time and money in pursuance of this nonexistent fund to no avail, the European Union Police Force in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), European Central Bank, the US Federal Reserve Bank New York and international banking body resolved to compensate all the foreign victims whose email address was short listed in order to restore European Union to the enviable standard of respectability and dignity.
 
You should as a matter of extreme urgency reconfirms the following to enable us prepare a payment voucher   and send out to our paying banks close to your location to enable them debt our consolidate account with them and credit yours.
1) YOUR FULL NAME:
2) COMPREHENSIVE ADDRESS:
3) PERSONAL CELL PHONE AND FAX:
4) OCCUPATION, AGE AND MARITAL STATUS:
5) COPY OF YOUR INT'L PASSPORT/DRIVERS LICENSE FOR PROPER IDENTIFICATION:
Please do provide the above information accurately, to avoid payment error. Always quote this code number EUROPOL/SC/EU/SS085/2014.
Furthermore, we shall be expecting to receive your information and warn that you should stop further communication with this nefarious people.
Thanks for your understanding.
Yours in Service,
       
Dr. /Mr. Houska Richard
International Public Relation Officer

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