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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: "World Bank Group" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <worldbankgroup231@qq.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 14:39:04 -0000
Subject: Attention: Fund Beneficiary

THE WORLD BANK/UNITED NATIONS,
EUROPEAN UNION,AFRICA UNION
AND OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCIES.

Attention: Fund Beneficiary,

We hope you receive this correspondence with the urgency and the expediency it requires.
Take Note: Your e-mail address and your name came up in a random draw conducted in our
office as one of the beneficiaries to receive scam victims compensation of $10.5M.

So you are being contacted because you names and email contact is listed as one of the
beneficiaries to receive scam victims compensation of $10.5M. For your information,also
after our crucial meeting today with all the relevant authorities,Heads of government,The
United Nations,The World Bank Group and African Union. We write to inform you that your
payment valued at US$10.5M has been approved for immediate release to you through our
Foreign Credit Commission into your account.

Our Foreign Credit Commission will release your payment to you within the next 72hours of
your accreditation. Now you are advised to get back to us immediately with your {1} Your
Full Names........{2}Telephone Number....{3}contact address...{4}occupation...{5}Age...for
further briefing and immediate release of your fund to you.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Yours Faithfully,

Mr. Paul Douglas

Anti-fraud resources: