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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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "benjaminaj" <benjaminaj@canada.com>
Date: Fri, 09 Dec 2005 18:24:55 -0800
Subject: VERY CONFIDENTIAL


NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION
FALOMO OFFICE COMPLEX, IKOYI, P.M.B. 1270I, LAGOS
>From the desk of: DR.BENJAMIN AJEH. B,sc. (UNN) M.sc.
Ph.D:MNIM: MCIA
MANAGER 11, BUDGET AND PLANNING
DEAR FRIEND,
WE ARE SENDING THIS EMAIL TO YOU BASED ON INFORMATION
GATHERED FROM THE FOREIGN TRADE OFFICE OF THE NIGERIAN
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY. WE BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD
BE IN A POSITION TO HELP US IN OUR BID TO TRANSFER THE SUM
OF FORTY-ONE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($41.5M
USD) INTO A FOREIGN ACCOUNT.
WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE FOR BUDGET AND
PLANNING OF THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM, THIS COMMITTEE IS
PRINCIPALLY CONCERNED WITH CONTRACT APPRAISALS AND APPROVAL
OF CONTRACTS. WITH OUR POSITIONS, WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY
SECURED FOR OURSELVES THE SUM OF TWENTY-ONE MILLION, FIVE
HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS(US$41.5M). THIS
AMOUNT WAS ACCUMULATED THROUGH UNDECLARED WINDFALL FROM
SALES OF CRUDE OIL .
WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU IS TO PROVIDE A SAFE ACCOUNT INTO
WHICH THE FUNDS WILL BE TRANSFERRED SINCE GOVERNMENT
OFFICIALS ARE NOT ALLOWED BY OUR LAWS TO OPERATE FOREIGN
ACCOUNT. IT HAS BEEN AGREED THAT THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT
WILL BE COMPENSATED WITH US$8.3 MILLION OF THE REMITTED
FUNDS, WE KEEP US$31.123 MILLION WHILE US$2.075 MILLION WILL
BE SET ASIDE TO OFFSET EXPENSES AND PAY THE NECESSARY TAXES.
WE NEED A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON OR A REPUTABLE
COMPANY TO DO BUSINESS WITH HENCE THIS EMAIL TO YOU, SO IF
YOU CAN PROVE YOURSELF TO BE TRUSTED AND INTERESTED IN THIS
DEAL THEN WE ARE PREPARED TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU. WHAT WE
WANT FROM YOU IS THE ASSURANCE THAT YOU WILL LET US HAVE OUR
SHARE WHEN THIS AMOUNT OF US$41.5M IS TRANSFERRED INTO YOUR
ACCOUNT.
IF THIS PROPOSAL SATISFIES YOU, PLEASE SEND YOUR TELEPHONE
AND FAX NUMBER ON YOUR RESPONSE SO WE CAN ADVICE YOU ON THE
MODALITIES OF THE TRANSACTION.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
DR. BENJAMIN AJEH.





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