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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.

 

 

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

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Inna Khodorkovsky" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <inna_2003@live.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 16:46:12 -0700
Subject: Investment Management Request

Hello:

Good day.

My name is Mrs. Inna Khodorkovsky, wife to Mr. Mikhail Khodorkovsky former Owner of YUKOS OIL COMPANY in Russia who was jailed on May 16th 2005 for financing the Union of Right Forces which poses treat to President VLADIMIR PUTIN as Russian president.

I got your contact detail via business guide of your country online, I know this is not the best way to have contacted you; however it is for confidential reasons. Based on the explicit investment information about your country from my research, i wish to invest in your country secretly under your supervision.

As you may know, after my husband was sentenced to jail the government thereby ordered his asset and bank accounts both here in Russia and abroad frozen, including the liquidation of his bank. Furthermore, the Government intensified their probe into my husband's financial resources and the revoking of all our business licenses around the world. Presently, the government has placed new charges of embezzlements on my husband, he is been accused of embezzling and laundering more than $20 billion “Between” 1998-2003, as a result of this he was transferred to Moscow from the Siberian prison to face trial on the new charges. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT THIS ON THE FOLLOWING SITE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7907339.stm

I am afraid this could make my husband continue his jail time into old age, and the government could confiscate our remaining funds abroad. I am contacting you after getting the consent of my husband to invest the funds secretly in your country; the funds in question are totaling the sum of €19 Million Euros cash. I hereby seek your partnership to invest these funds in Hotel Management in your country, all i want you to do is to start-up the investment in your name or that of your company, after which you will be managing it subsequently to my husband's release from prison.

As for your shares, you will be part of the beneficiary of the investment, 30% of its annual income will be yours while 70% will belong to my family.

Please, i do not want anybody else to know about my partnership with you because my family’s name has already been disseminated after my husband was sentenced to jail. I would advice you keep this project as a top secret, also I demand absolute transparency on your side when carrying out this project.

As soon as you receive this message kindly get back to me and tell me if you are capable of handling this investment for me.

For confidential reasons, kindly reply via my private email address: (inna_2003@live.com)

Regards,

Mrs. Inna Khodorkovsky

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