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 Coleman Gerald" <info@unitednations.com>
Reply-To: <mrcolemangerald@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 9 May 2020 04:47:56 -0700
Subject: Re:United Nations Covid-19 Donation For You!

Greetings,

I am Mr Coleman Gerald,Head Officer-in-Charge,Administrative Service Inspection Unit,United Nations. I am happy to let you know that as part of our efforts to cushion the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, you have been selected to receive a donation of $1.2Million from United Nations. You are required to carefully re-confirm your details as requested below:

1. Your Full Name:.............................
2. Your Contact Address:..............................
3. Your Phone Number:...................................
4. Occupation :...................................

Congratulations!!!

Regards
Mr Coleman Gerald
Head Officer-in-Charge,
Administrative Service Inspection Unit

Anti-fraud resources: