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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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Fraud email example:

From: "suleman forson" <suleman_forson@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:49:47 +0000
Subject: FROM THE DESK OF SULEMAN FORSON,

FROM THE DESK OF SULEMAN FORSON,
AFRICA DEVELOPMENT BANK
OUGADOUGOU,BURKINA FASO
DEAR FRIEND,
I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remmittance departmentof Africa Development Bank.
In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of US $10.5m dollars(Twenty million five hundred thousand US Dollars) in an account that belongs to one of our foriegn customer who died along with his entirer family inJuly 2000 in plane crash.
  Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we can not release it unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the decease as indicated in our banking guidlines and laws, but unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died along side with him at the plane clash leaving no body behind for the claim. It is therefore upon this discovery that I  decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to  you as the nextof kin or relation to the decease for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and we dont want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill.
   The banking law and guidline here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after five years, the money will be transfered into the bank treasure as unclaimed fund. The request of a foreigner as next of kin in this businessis occassioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a burkinabe cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner.
  30% of this money will be for you as a foreign partner,in respect to the provision of a foreign account, 10% will be set aside for expenses incurred during the business and 60% will be for me There after I and my collegues will visit your country fordisbursment according to the percentages indicated.
Therefore, to enable the immediate transfer of the fund to you as arrange,you must apply first to the bank as relation or next or kin of the deceased indicating your bank name, your bank account, your private telephone and fax number for easy and effective communication and
location where in the money will be remitted.
Upon receipt of your reply, i will send to you by fax or email the textof the application. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this businessis hicth-free and that you should not entertain any atom of
fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.
You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this letter.
Trusting to hear from you immediately.
Yours faithfully,
manager, Bill and exchange.
SULEMAN FORSON
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, BURKINA FASO


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