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: "Louis Alexander" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <louis.alexander23@aim.com>
Date: Fri, 15 May 2015 17:49:35 +0200
Subject: Dear Friend

Dear Friend,
My name is Louis Alexander. I work with a financial house here in the Netherlands. During my last session and examination of bank accounts within our bank, my department found a dormant account with an enormous sum of US $ 55,500,000.00, which was deposited from a deceased Mr. Williams from England before his death. From our investigation, he had no next of kin to obtain these funds. Standing view of the Dutch banking regulation only a foreigner as next of kin, in view of the fact that the applicant was a non-Dutch. I need your permission to have a partner to our deceased customer, so that the funds released and immediately transferred to your bank account. At the end of the transaction, 40% will be for you, and 60% will be for me and my colleagues. I'm still working in the financial house and that is the reason why I need a second party to work with. I have in my possession all the necessary documents to successfully carry out this transaction. More information will be provided u
With best regards
Louis Alexander

Anti-fraud resources: