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: "World Bank" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <danieljames@worldbankng.onmicrosoft.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 18:19:47 -0200
Subject: [187.177.T]The release of your $10.5Million Usd (Get Back To Us Immediately)

Attention:
 
Have you been informed that your $10.5 Million USD has been release for payment since date 16 May 2014?
I advise you as the right beneficiary of the said amount $10.5Million Usd Without wasting much time to reconfirm the below information for confirmation to help us serve you better.
 
Your Full Name................
Your Country...........
Your Home Address..............
Occupation....................
Tel Or Cell Phone..............
Age.................................
A Copy Of Your ID...............
 
At this stage, I will be waiting for your immediate responses to this email in other to help us get this funds directly to you.
Reply Back as you read.
 
Best Regard
Mr. Daniel James
World Bank Nigeria  MD.

Anti-fraud resources: