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: Josanne Coulibaly <taikisyatoru2001@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Josanne Coulibaly <josanne.coulibaly@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 23:57:33 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Assist me please!

Dear Friend,
 
I am Josanne Coulibaly from Ivory Coast. I am 19 year
of age. I am an orphan due to my father’s sudden death in 2010. He died in
Paris, France on a business trip. My father deposited the sum of USD$13,500,
000 as consignment with a security company overseas. It was disclosed to me by
my father’s lawyer after my father’s death. As a young girl, my uncle
forcefully took over my father’s estates and his residential building
immediately he died. There are rumors and speculations that he knew what
happened to my father because he traveled together with my father to Paris.
 
I want you to assist me as my foreign trustee and guardian to retrieve the
consignment from the security company and secure it in your country. I will
join you in your country as soon as you receive the money.  I need your
assistance to claim the consignment from the security company and invest it in
your country. I don't want my wicked uncle to know about this money for the
sake of my security. I need your help, honesty and love to secure this money.
 
You will take 25% of the money for your assistance and 5% for any expenses made
while claiming the consignment from the security company. I will provide you
with more details of the consignment and contact information’s of the security
company when I read from you.
 
Your suggestion will be regarded.
 
God Bless you,
Josanne Coulibaly

Anti-fraud resources: