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: REV FATHER PAUL <markhooks1101@gmail.com>
Reply-To: rev.paulbowman01@live.co.uk
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2015 21:32:30 -0800
Subject: Greeting....God Bless You

*I am reverend father Paul by the grace of God writing to you on be half of
Mrs. Caroline Lawrence a citizen of Belgium. I got your contact from the
International christian directory, prayed over it and selected your name
among other names due to it's esteeming nature and the recommendations
given as a reputable and trust worthy person who can benefit her worth all
desire. she married to Van Lawrence who is Gold international contractor
here in Ghana, since his death she have been battling with both lungs and
fibroid problems.right now she can not hear very well that is why i send
you this massage my self.*

*When her husband was alive,He deposited a substantial amount of money
worth of NINE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND United State Dollars($9.5m)
with a Financial Institution here in the Accra-Ghana where he works in gold
mining ltd Ghana which she inherited after his death. her worries and
reason of contacting you is that her doctor notified her recently that she
have less than six month to live due to her unfortunate ailment. she
decided to hand over this funds to a devoted (God) fearing individual that
will utilize this money for charity purpose and to help the needy the way
she is going to instruct you that why i chose you .*

*Having known her health condition she decided to donate this money to a
good charity use some for yourself some organizations and orphanage homes
in your country.she also took this decision because she is a widow and her
husband relatives are not good to her when her husband was alive, they are
enemies of progress and don't have the fear of God in them and she have to
avoid them from having any idea about this money.*

*she took this bold decision to contact you personally as a foreigner for
assistance so that the fund can hand over to you as her foreigner partner
once i Reverend Father present you to the safe keeping finance institute
where this fund was deposited, because she have handed all the relevant
document including the deposit certificate to me Reverend father. my name
is Reverend Father Paul Brown Please my dear in the Lord use this fund as
directed you since she can not come over due to her hearth and she have
helped some people right here and in my country including my church.
respond,so that i shall direct you where the money was deposited and
explain in full details all you need to know about this matter. Please I
want you and your family to always pray for her healing and always be
prayerful to God in all the days of your life.*

*Here is my direct Email (rev.paulbowman01@live.co.uk
<rev.paulbowman01@live.co.uk>) as you receive this massage send me email
with your information:*

*YOUR FULL NAME......*
*YOUR COUNTRY........*
*YOUR AGE.......*
*YOUR OCCUPATION.......*
*YOUR TEL NO..........*
*YOUR ADDRESS...........*

*Yours faithfully,*
*Rev Paul*

Anti-fraud resources: