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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "anayo chika" <trippleanns_anayo@msn.com>
Reply-To: anele_lucy@yahoo.ca
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 10:16:38 +0000
Subject: ATTENTION PLEASE

ATTENTION SIR,

I AM DR JOHN ABIOLA THE FINANCIAL CONTROLLER OF NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION(NNPC)AND BY THE VIRTUE AS A DIRECTOR IN THE NNPC ABUJA,
 
 I GOT YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS FROM AN ASSOCIATE WORKING WITH THE NIGERIAN EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL AND I DECIDED TO
PROPOSE TO YOU THIS BUSINESS IN STRICT CONFIDENCE.
 
PURPOSE: ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE
MINISTRIAL OFFICERS AND  THE OTHER OFFICERS INCHARGE OF THE OFF-SHORE REMITTANCE IN THIS CORPORATION, WE ARE SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE FOR THE TRANSFER OF( US$25.5M) TO YOUR
ACCOUNT FOR FURTHER PRIVATE INVESTMENT. HENCE OUR
REQUEST FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE. SOURCE OF FUND:
 
THIS AMOUNT TO BE TRANSFERED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT OCCURED
FROM AN OVER INVOICED CONTRACT AMOUNT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN OIL REFINARY SUB-STATION IN NIGERIA (NORTHERN REGION) IN 1998 TO AN EXPERTRATE COMPANY. 
 
THE CONTRACT WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY VALUED FOR US$109M. THE EXTRA US$25.5M IS WHAT WE WANT TO TRANSFER TO YOUR  CCOUNT.
THIS CONTRACT HAS BEEN COMPLETLY EXECUTED AND THE CONTRACTOR HAS BEEN PAID ALL THEIR CONTRACT SUM REMAINING US$25.5M. REQUIREMENT:WHAT WE EXPECT FROM YOU IN YOUR REPLY ARE:YOUR NAME AND CONTACT ADDRESS  YOUR PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS, FOR EASY COMMUNICATION.
 
THE NAME AND PHONE AND FAX NUMBER OF YOUR BANK. ACCOUNT
NUMBER, FOR SUBMISSION TO THE MINISTERIES AS TO WHERE THIS MONEY WILL BE LOGDED.YOU SHALL ARRANGE FOR US TO MEET WITH YOU IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE MONEY HAD BEEN REMITTED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.
 
DISBURSEMENT:WE HAVE RESOLVED THAT YOU TAKE 30% OF THE
TOTAL AMOUNT FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE BECAUSE IT IS
IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO CLAIM THE OVER INVOICED MONEY
HERE IN NIGERIA WITHOUT YOUR ASSISTANCE IN ADDITION
10% HAS BEEN MAPED OUT FOR ANY MISCELLINOUS EXPENSES
INCURRED BY YOU AND US DURING THE BUSINESS AND 60% IS
FOR MY COLLEAGUES AND MYSELF.
 
 SECURITY: ALL MODALITIES TO EFFECT THE PAYMENT AND  UBSEQUENT TRANSFER OF THIS MONEY HAS BEEN WORKED OUT. SO, THIS TRANSACTION IS 100% RISK FREE. THOUGH, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TREAT THIS BUSINESS WITH STRICT CONFIDENCE.
 
I AWAIT YOUR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE THROUGH MY EMAIL
ADDRESS , SEND ME YOUR CONFIDENTIAL FAX AND PHONE FOR
SPEEDY CORRESPONDENCE.I WILL HIGHLY APPRECIATE IF YOU
TREAT THIS BUSINESS WITH STRICT CONFIDENCE FOR
SECURITY REASONS OUR COMMUNICATION SHOULD BE ON EMAIL
ONLY.
 
I WILL BE GLAD TO HEAR FROM YOU
BEST REGARDS.
 
DR.JOHN ABIOLA

Anti-fraud resources: