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: "Maco Alberto" <info@admin.sk>
Reply-To: maccoalbertolawfirm@lawyer.com
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 14:07:36 -0700
Subject: GREETINGS

Hello Dear,

Muammar Gaddafi and family.

My Names are Maco Alberto, international financial consultant/attorney.
One of my clients Muammar Gaddafi`S family (Former Libya President) has
mandated me to look for a genuine honest person whom some of their funds
will be entrusted to for safekeeping/investments due to their currest
situation in Libya right now. If you are the honest person, kindly write
me through this email address: maccoalbertolawfirm@lawyer.com for your
interest so I can give you further directives on how to get hold of the
investment funds of the family. Please send your full name and address and
telephone number to reach you.

Looking forward to hear from you

Honorably Yours,
Mr. Maco Alberto Esq.

Anti-fraud resources: