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: Maria <mariaforrealgirl2@libero.it>
Reply-To: mariaarok@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 03:00:40 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: Hello Dear,

Hello Dear,

I know this mail will be a surprise thing to you but let it not because I
personally chose to send you this mail after my extensive search through google
directory page of your country, I saw your contact and decided to contact you.
I am 25 year old and Miss Maria Arok from Southern Sudan who is presently
staying in Senegal West Africa, I will be happy if we can be friends and share
ideas etc. I hope to hear from you soonest for more details about me. Here is
my email address: mariaarok@yahoo.com
Yours Sincerely Miss Maria.


Olá Queridos,

Eu sei que este e-mail será uma coisa surpresa para você, mas não deixe que
isso porque eu, pessoalmente, escolheu para enviar-lhe este e-mail após a minha
extensa pesquisa através do google página do diretório de seu país, eu vi o seu
contato e decidiu entrar em contato com você. Tenho 25 anos e dona Maria Arok
do sul do Sudão, que está atualmente hospedado no Senegal África Ocidental, vou
ser feliz se é que podemos ser amigos e compartilhar idéias. Espero ouvir mais
logo de você para obter mais detalhes sobre mim. Aqui está o meu endereço de e-
mail: mariaarok@yahoo.com
Atenciosamente dona Maria.

Anti-fraud resources: