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: "Melton Jones" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <masterjined121@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2023 01:33:02 -0700
Subject: ATENTION!

BENEFICIARY,

WE ARE REMINDING YOU OF THE PACKAGED ENVELOPE (ATM) WHICH CONTAIN THE SUM OF
US$2.5 million dollars, REGISTERED IN POST OFFICE BY U.S AMBASSADOR TO
BENIN, WE ARE MOVING OUT SOME PACKAGES IN OUR CUSTODY TO THEIR VARIOUS
DESTINATION VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING ON MONDAY, BUT IF YOU STILL
DON`T WANT YOUR PACKAGE TO BE LEFT BEHIND, THAT MEANS YOU WILL HAVE TO
PAY US THE SECURITY KEEPING FEES WHICH WILL COST YOU THE SUM OF
$114.00.

MANY OTHER PACKAGES WHICH WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DELIVER TOGETHER WITH
YOURS HAD ALREADY BEEN DELIVERED TO THEIR VARIOUS OWNERS BUT YOURS IS
STILL HERE IN OUR OFFICE. THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO GET
$114.00 AS SECURITY FEE.
HOWEVER, WE'LL DISPATCH YOUR PACKAGE AS SOON AS THE PAYMENT OF $114.00
DOLLARS IS PAID, AND YOU ARE ADVISED TO SEND A TOTAL SUM OF $114.00
USING (WESTERN UNION TRANSFER) OR THROUGH (RIA MONEY TRANSFER) ONLY TO THE
INFORMATION BELOW.

RECEIVER NAME: NANCY EDA
COUNTRY: BENIN REPUBLIC
CITY: COTONUO
AMOUNT : $114.00

AS SOON AS YOU MAKE THE PAYMENT,KINDLY FORWARD THE BELLOW INFORMATION TO US.

MTCN:
SENDERS NAME:
SENDERS ADDRESS:

WE ARE WAITING ON YOUR URGENT RESPONSE SO THAT WE CAN MOVE OUT THE
PACKAGE AS PROMISED. AS SOON AS THE PACKAGE IS DISPATCHED ON MONDAY,
YOU SHOULD EXPECT THE ARRIVAL OF THE PACKAGE WITHIN 48HOURS. SO PLEASE
WE ADVICE YOU STAY HOME AND RECEIVE THE PACKAGE PERSONALLY BECAUSE WE
WON’T HAND IT OVER TO SOMEONE ELSE UNLESS YOU HAVE URGENT PLACE TO
ATTEND THEN YOU MUST DROP A WRITTEN NOTE WITH WHOEVER YOU ASK TO
RECEIVE IT ON YOUR BEHALF.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEAR FROM YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

MELTON JONES

Anti-fraud resources: