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: "Major Tah Harry." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <tahharry1976@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2022 13:10:02 -0000
Subject: Re: Can i trust you for this deal?

Greetings to you Sir,
 
My name is  Major Tah Harry. I am an American soldier, presently in Syria for the training, advising the Syrian forces and also helping in stabilizing the country against security challenges. With a very desperate need for assistance, I have decided to contact you for your kind assistance to move the sum of (US$2,000,000.00) Two Million United States Dollars to you for investment purpose if I can be assured that my interest will be protected until I complete my service.
 
Some money in various currencies was discovered in boxes at a farmhouse during a rescue operation we conducted in one of the attacks by the terrorists and it was agreed by my colleagues and I that some part of this money be shared among us. The above figure was given to me as my share, and to conceal this kind of money became a problem for me here, so with the help of a British doctor working with Red Cross against Covid-19 Pendemic here, I was able to get the package out to a
safe location entirely out of trouble spot.
 
I have now found a much secured way of getting the package out of Syria to you for pick up and I will discuss this with you when I am sure that you are willing to assist me. I am ready to compensate you with 30% of the $2 million USD for your assistance.
 
I do not know how long we will remain here, and I have been shot, wounded and survived two suicide bomb attacks by the special grace of God, this and other reasons I will mention later that has prompted me to
reach out for help.
 
Get back to me for more details on tahharry1976@gmail.com
 
Truly yours,
Major Tah Harry

Anti-fraud resources: