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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Svetlana Jovanovska" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrs.sj@superposta.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:07:58 -0400
Subject: Greetings

Hi,
 
I got your contact while making inquiry for reliable person that will stand for charitable organization in any part of the word, the reason behind this work is based on the fact that my husband and my only son died in the crash on the 7th of September 1998.
 
I have been living alone since then. I discovered the sum of Fifteen Million United States Dollars deposited by my husband in a bank and hence I resolved to look for a foreigner provided he/she will donate to Orphanage homes in local areas of his or her country. This is because I have been suffering of cancer of the breast for the past 6yrs.
 
I will send a letter of authorization to the bank where the funds was deposited to release the amount to you as the new appointed beneficiary upon the receipt of the below information.
 
1. Full Names:
2. Full Address:
3. Telephone
4. Mobile number
5. Your Age:
6. Any Kind of Identification.
 
Best regards,
 
Mrs. Svetlana Jovanovska
 

Anti-fraud resources: