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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

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

Fraud email example:

From: "Miss Janet Ntombuzo" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ukasseyyy@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2023 09:51:42 -0700
Subject: Urgent.

Good Day,
 
I am Janet Ntombuzo, a computer scientist from South Africa, currently employed by a financial institution. I am 30 years old. Recently, I came across your file, which contains details of your unpaid funds. Upon studying it, I discovered that you have already paid all the necessary fees and obtained the required certificates, yet your fund has not been released to you. The most frustrating aspect is that they refuse to be honest with you; they have no intention of releasing the funds and instead employ various illegal tactics to demand additional charges, hoping that you will give up on your funds. Their ultimate goal is to divert the money into their personal accounts.
 
I have no desire to remain here working for the rest of my life. If you can assure me of my security and compensate me after receiving your funds, I am willing to release this fund to you.To proceed with the release, I will require a special HARD DISK, known as HD980 GIG. This disk will allow me to recopy your information from the corrupted one, destroy the previous version, and update the necessary banking details within 24 banking hours. Once the transaction is complete, you can confirm the receipt of your funds.
 
Please get in touch with me immediately and provide your convenient telephone/fax numbers for easy communication. Additionally, kindly reconfirm your banking details to ensure accuracy and avoid any mistakes.
Regards.
 
Miss Janet Ntombuzo
 

Anti-fraud resources: