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

Fraud email example:

From: Gilbert Bahma <gilbert.bahma08@owomonie.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:01:30 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: YOUR URGENT REPLY IS NEEDED (FROM MR. GILBERT BAHMA)


Hello/ From Mr. Gilbert Bahma
 
My name is Mr. Gilbert Bahma, a Banker, director of audit & record with our bank here in Abidjan. I write you this proposal in good faith, believing that we shall come out at the end with a profitable business with this information I am about to reveal to you. Like I said, I have a transaction that will benefit both of us, as your assistance is required as a foreigner.
 
Upon special Accounting and Auditing panel set-up by the Boards of directors of our bank to investigate all credit account operated by it customers, that has been in operation for the last four (4) years. We discovered a credit account floating with a huge fund amounting to $5.000.000.00 (Five Million US Dollars) this account belongs to one Late Mr. Jonathan Frampton, a great industrialist  who unfortunately lost his life in the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 which crashed on January 31 2000, including his wife and only daughter.
 
The account is escrow call account, a secret type of account in my bank and no other person knows about this account or any thing concerning it, the account has no beneficiary name. I have kept a close monitoring of the account since I am  the personal accounting manager to the deceased, and since then nobody has come forward to ask about the money as next of kin to the late Mr. Jonathan Frampton, meaning that no one is aware of the account. I cannot directly take out this money without your help as a foreigner and that is why I am contacting you for an assistance to claim the fund and share it with me. As the director of audit & record of our bank, I have the power to influence the release of the funds to you as a foreigner who comes up as the next of kin to the account, with the correct information concerning the account, which I shall give you. I am seeking your co-operation to present you as the next of kin to this account, so that our bank will
release the funds to you.
 
All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us seeing this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under all legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. In your reply mail, I want you to give me
 
(1)Your full names
(2) Address
(3) Date of birth
(4) Telephone and fax numbers. 
 
If you can handle this with me, reach me now urgently with your requested information for more discussion.
 
Thanking you for your anticipated cooperation
 
Mr. Gilbert Bahma

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