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: FELIX MAKOMBE <felixmakombe064@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 13:41:03 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: $31.5M Investment Proposal


From: Mr. Felix MakombeRepublic of South Africa.                                                  $31.5M Investment ProposalDear Friend,        This may appear a bit surprising to you but very beneficial as a matter of urgency, I am desperately looking for a foreign partner Investor, whom I can trust to handle some investment and fund movement. I am Mr. Felix Makombe the son of late Mr. Larry Makombe, who was murdered by the Zimbabwean veterans and irate black people. I am writing from Johannesburg South Africa. I write to solicit for your special assistance to a family shattered by a tyrannical government led by a dictator and his (ZANU-PF) ruling party-president Robert Mugabe. Because of land and farm land crisis in Zimbabwe, the government secretly sponsored the war veterans and some irate party members to dispossess the land being occupied by white farmers. This action has led to the killing of some members of opposition party including my father Mr. Larry Makombe. But before the death of my father, he anticipated some dangers and so he deposited the sum of US$31,500,000.00 (Thirty-one Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) in a reputable security company in South Africa with the intention of using it to open fertilizer manufacturing company. The war veterans and some supporters of (ZANU-PF) ruling party Trooped into our compound and axed him (my father) to death. But I managed to escape to a neighboring country South Africa as a political asylum seeker (Refugee) but my Refugee position here in South Africa does not permit me to open an account or run any huge legal financial business to the permit rules and regulation in South Africa Refugee law. That is why I want this fund to be transferred into your private account overseas, so that you will assist me to invest it in your country. Hence, if you agree to assist me to claim the fund from the security company, I will offer you 30% of the money for your assistance, while 70% will be for my investment in your country through your assistance. Upon your immediate response, I will immediately arrange and send to you all the information's that will empower your good self in finalizing the transaction with the security company here in South Africa. I need your urgent and confidential response. Thanks and Regards,
Mr. Felix Makombe 

Anti-fraud resources: