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: "Mr.Adebayo Adelabu" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrarthall22@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2018 09:22:47 -0800
Subject: Fund Approval

Hello Good morning
 
Do you have any project or an on going project which requires funding?
I got your contact from a Business Directory in my search for a trustworthy and reliable partner for project investments. I reach you via your email so that we can work together to claim accrued excess funds worth millions of dollars if you are interested in discussing this further.
 
Please I need your help in claiming an abandoned fund I discovered in our Bank.The account is dormant and non operational for 10 calendar years.We stand to gain immensely on the successful completion of this mutual undertaking.This business opportunity guarantee's you 30% of $3.5 Million USD .
 
I intend to reinvest this fund by putting it into the management of project owners,entrepreneurs with good business ideas and viable projects that can generate healthy return on investment.This fund cannot be paid into my bank account since I am still in active service,hence the need for your assistant.
 
If that is the case email me for discussion of this matter in detail. I assure you that this project is feasible and I have worked out a perfect plan to make it successful. I will discuss further details when I am sure of your willingness to do this deal with me.
Looking forward to hearing from you soonest.
 
Regards,
 
Mr.Peter Wharton

Anti-fraud resources: