joewein.de LLC fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter! Free trial for 30 days

"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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.

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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "a security company " (this will cost you money - that's what the scam is about)
  • "former president of liberia" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "liberia" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: "ken taylor" <collyken@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 18:43:37 +0100
Subject: Mail For:Wheaton/From Ken Taylor


Dear Sir/Madam,
Please do not be surprised for I need your help immediately and I do know
that this is a very unlikely way to seek help but due to desperation ,I do
not have a choice but to do this. I am Ken Taylor, son of the Former
President of Liberia. As you may be aware that we were granted asylum in
Nigeria by the President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (GCFR), after
which my father was arrested on March 29, 2006 and taken to Sierra Leone for
war-crime charges as can be viewed in the following websites:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-03-29-bush-nigeria_x.htm
http://www.britainusa.com/sections/articles_show_nt1.asp?d=0&i=41058&L1=&L2=&a=41534

I have in my possession what I will call my family's last hope of $50m
cash, raw gold worth $5m and raw diamond worth $7m Million Dollars all put
in safety deposit boxes which I intend to entrust to any foreign trusted
person who will help me to invest this fund into any good business, as I can
no longer have any other means of livelihood with everything we have taken
away from us by the government of my country . Your assistance to receive
these safety deposit boxes that are presently with a security company .

Since my father has been apprehended and all I have left are these assets,
I deem it necessary to securing these assets in a safe hand and further
guidance as regards investment. After receipt of these properties by you,
30% of the total assets will go to you.

This fund is in a box deposited with a security company (the identity and
location of the security company is not disclosed for security reasons). The
company is not aware of what is inside the box as I told them that the box
belongs to my friend and that I will inform my friend to apply for the
collection of the box.

Upon agreement to commence, I will forward you the documents for title and
ownership proof for easy access to claim the boxes from the security company

Please immediately I hear from you, the modality of the transfer of the
properties will be disclosed and properly discussed. You can reach me with
the following contact information as I am presently in the United Kingdom.


Waiting for your response.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Taylor

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam