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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.

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

Fraud email example:

From: "MICHAEL SILVER" <silver@michalesilverspage.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 2015 14:28:43 -0000
Subject: DEAR BELOVED



Dear Beloved,

Greetings to you, This mail might come to you as a surprise and the
temptation to ignore it as unserious could come into your mind; but
please, consider it a divine wish and accept it with a deep sense of
humility. My name is Michael Silver. I'm a 55 years old man. I am British
living in Dubai (United Arab Emirate). I was a merchant and owned two
businesses in Dubai.

I was also married with two children. My wife and two children died in a
car accident six years ago. Before this happened my business and concern
for making money was all I lived for. I never really cared about other
values in life. But since the loss of my family, I have found a new desire
to assist helpless families. I have been helping orphans in orphanage/
motherless homes. I have donated some money to orphans in Sudan, South
Africa , Cameroon, Brazil, Spain, Austria,Germany and some Asian
countries.

Before I became ill, I kept $8.5 Million in a long-term deposit account in
a finance company . Presently, I'm in a hospital where I have been
undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer, I have since lost my ability
to talk and my Doctors have told me that I have only a few months to live.
It is my last wish to see this money distributed to charity organizations.
Because relatives and friends have laundered so much of my wealth since my
illness, I cannot live with the agony of entrusting this huge
responsibility to any of them.

Please, I want you to help me collect the deposit and the interest accrued
from the company and distributes it amongst charity organizations.
I'm willing to offer you a reward If you are willing to help; please reply
my private email;silver@michalesilverspage.com as soon as you can.
Regards
Michael Silver

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