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: "Mrs.Joan Gates" <kachukwu9@kachukwu9.jp.tn>
Reply-To: <joangates46@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2016 05:21:17 -0700
Subject: RE: DEAR BELOVED FRIEND URGENT RESPOND


My Dear Friend, Greeting to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Let m=
e first of all inform you, I got your email address from a mail Directory a=
nd decided to mail you for a permission to go ahead. I am Mrs.Joan Gates Un=
ited Kingdom, married to Dr. James R. Gates who worked with Texaco Oil Comp=
any in London , before he died in a ghastly motor accident on his way to a =
Board meeting. My Husband and me were married but without any children. Sin=
ce his death I decided not to re-marry and presently I am 69 Years old. Whe=
n my late husband was Alive he deposited the sum of $16.5M. (Sixteen Millio=
n Five Hundred Thousand U.S. Dollars) with a Bank.Presently this money is s=
till with the Bank and the management just Wrote me as the beneficiary to c=
ome forward to receive the money or rather Issue a letter of authority to s=
omebody to receive it on my behalf. I am presently in a hospital where I ha=
ve been undergoing treatment Cancer of the lungs. I have since lost my abil=
ity to talk and my doctors have told me that I have only a few months to li=
ve so I think the best thing to do is to use the money for charity purposes=
. I want a person who is trustworthy that I will make the beneficiary of my=
late Husband's Fund deposited with the bank so that the person can get the=
money and utilize 70% of this money to fund churches, orphanages and widow=
s around the world. At the moment I cannot take any telephone calls right n=
ow due to the fact that my relatives (They had squandered the funds I gave =
them for this purpose before and are around me I have been helping orphans =
orphanage/motherless homes. I have also donated some money for humanitarian=
needs in Sudan , South Africa , Brazil , Spain , Austria ,Germany and some=
Asian countries.I have been touched to the good work of humanity through y=
ou, rather than allow my relatives to use my husband's hard earned funds in=
appropriately.I know i have never met you but my mind tells me to do this, =
and I hope you act sincerely. As soon as I receive your reply I shall give =
you the contact details of the Bank. I will also issue you a letter of auth=
ority that will prove you as the new beneficiary of this fund.Please assure=
me that you will act accordingly as I stated here in and Keep this contact=
confidential till such a time this funds get to your Custody. This is to e=
nsure that nothing jeopardizes my last wish on Earth.May the good lord bles=
s you -Amen,I await your urgent reply.(joangates46@yahoo.com) Regards, Mrs.=
Joan Gates

Anti-fraud resources: