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: Patricia Lebrun <patricialebrun2017@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 26 Feb 2023 14:37:51 +0000
Subject: Hello Dear,

Hello Dear,

My name is Miss Patricia Lebrun. I am the only child of my late
parents, My father was a Gold and Diamond Merchant based in Abidjan,
Côte d'Ivoire, my father was poisoned to death by his business
associates while my mother died when i was a kid . My father took me
so special because I am an only child. Before the death of my father
in the hospital, he secretly called me and told me that he deposited
the sum of ($7 million USD) in the bank here. He also made me
understand that it was because of his wealth he was poisoned by his
business associate .

My father instructed me before he died to look for a foreign partner
who will help me retrieve this fund out from the bank without the
knowledge of anybody here. I dropped out of school because of
financial difficulties. I was in contact with my father's bank and
they confirmed the fund for me and promised to transfer the fund in
any country of my choice. My purpose of contacting you is for you to
help me as my late father advised me before he died.

1)To help me transfer my funds in the bank to your country.
2)To make arrangements for me to come to your country to continue my education.
3)To utilize this money by investing it in good business.

I am now hiding for the safety of my life from my enemies. In my next
email I will detail to you more about me and my inheritance. I am
willing to reward you with 30% of my total fund for your good
assistance. please write back soon. I am waiting for your response
soon.

Best Regards,

Miss Patricia Lebrun.

Anti-fraud resources: