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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs.Joan Williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <unitednation.org@pochta.com>
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2015 23:53:22 +0530
Subject: Are you alive?

REF/PAYMENTS CODE: 04454 ($5MILLION USD).
ATTN:
This is to bring to your notice that I am delegated to the United
Nations Organization office here in Africa to pay 5,000 Africa scam
victims $5Million USD each all over the world, the compensation funds
was raised from the confiscated properties and bank accounts of 57
major internet fraudsters from Africa and Europe, amounting to the sum
of $500millionusdollars, the U.N.O security department arrested this
major internet fraudsters and in our investigation we discovered that
you are in the listed of those who has falling victims to the arrested
internet fraudsters and so the United Nations organization has
approved that you should be compensated with the sum of
$5millionusdollars as one of the scammed victims out of the
Funds/properties that was confiscated from the 57 major internet
fraudsters after their arrest, be advice to communicate this office as
soon as possible with a scanned copy of your international passports
or driver’s license for identifications and for the Immediate payment
of your $5Million compensation funds. Mr. Bank Ki-Moon the United
Nations Secretary general and the World Bank President both came to a
resolution mandating the Central Bank of Nigeria to payment the scam
victims the sum of $5millionusdollars each from the escrow account of
the United Nation with the Central Bank. According to the number of
applicants at hand 2,800 beneficiaries has been paid, half of the
victims are from the United States, we still have more 2,200 left to
be paid the compensations of $5Million each. Your particulars was
mentioned by one of the syndicates who was arrested in Lagos
Nigeria/Europe as one of their victims of the operations, you are
hereby warned not to communicate or duplicate this message to anybody
for any reason what so ever, the US secret service is already on trace
for more of the criminals. For more vital information please contact
me on this email(unitednation.org@pochta.com)
Regards
Mrs.Joan Williams
U.N.O

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