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"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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: mr mark johnson
Reply-To: <markjohnsonmj090@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2023 16:38:49 -0700
Subject: GET BACK TO US ASAP FOR THE RELEASE OF YOUR FUND IN OUR POCESSION

MR MARK JOHNSON. IMF/UN Cyber security E-Scam Warning Department. IMF/UN Headquarters KAMPALA, UGANDA. We are pleased to inform you that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in conjunction with the United Nations (UN) have successfully recovered 50% of funds belonging to various beneficiaries that are being held in Africa,Asia,and Europe due to some bogus fees and charges. Among the funds recovered is $6,500,000.00 (SIX Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) belonging to you as the beneficiary and it has been tagged Abandoned. We sent a notification email to you a few days ago but unfortunately,no response has been received from you till this moment. We are sending you this email as a final notice and you are expected to respond back within three days of receiving this email to enable us to finalize an arrangement to either transfer your funds into your Bank Account or send you an ATM CARD delivery to your address. Your confirmation to the above matter will be appreciated. We look forward to hearing from you soon for further advice. Sincerely Yours, Mr. MARK JOHNSON. IMF/UN Cyber security E-Scam Warning Department. IMF/UN Headquarters KAMPALA, UGANDA.

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