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. Vivian Brown" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <vivianbrown4677@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2017 14:17:54 +0200
Subject: BUSINESS PROPOSAL FOR MUTUAL BENEFIT FOR ME AND YOU

 
From: Mrs. Vivian Brown
Private Email: vivianbrown4677@gmail.com
 
Good day Beloved,
I know that this proposal may come to you as a surprise especially having to come from someone  you have not met before but I would like you to co-operate with me, I would also appreciate if the content of this letter is kept strictly confidential and respect the integrity of the information/content
of this letter, My name is Mrs. Vivian Brown, the Chief Auditor of First National Bank of South Africa (FNB).
 
I have gone through your country's investment profile and history and I am willing to partner with you and invest a substantial amount of money, However the main reason I am  contacting you is  concerning an abandoned sum of $19,500,000.00 (Nineteen Million Five Hundred Thousand United  State Dollars).In June 2005 which I need your assistance to have it transfer out of the bank to your  account and subsequently we invest the fund in any  lucrative business in your country.
I am expecting  your swift response to indicate you r interest via my private email address above as soon as you receive this letter for details also I will like you to send me your direct cell numbers for  an oral discuss if youre interested to work with me.
 
Best Regards
Mrs. Vivian Brown.
 

Anti-fraud resources: