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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: victor@ens.cablered.com.mx
Reply-To: williams_victor@hotmail.com
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2011 11:12:11 -0700
Subject: Attention Dear,




Attention Dear,

Please, no matter strange or surprising this contact might seem to you as
we have not meet personally or had any dealings in the past, I humbly ask
that you take due consideration of its importance and immense
benefit.However, this is not mandatory nor will I in any manner compel you
to honor against your will.

I am Mr Victor Williams, of Eco Bank Togo,working in Audit and Account
Unit. During the course of our auditing last year, I discovered a floating
fund in an account opened in our branch in 1992 and since 2003 the account
has not been operated again. After going through some old files in the
records, I discovered that the owner of the account died along with his
family in Iraq.

The owner of this account who was late Mr Richard Dulvy, an origin of
Pakistan, a business man based here in Togo. He use to supply goods to
most of the Oil servicing company here in Togo before he got a contract
with the Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of the Houston-based oil
company Halliburton in Iraq in 1999. According to a reliable information I
gather by myself, he was in a Two vehicle convoy with his family traveling
from Baghdad when their car hit an improvised device on the 5Th of August
2003.Until now no other person knows about this account or could give any
documentary evidence concerning this account.

Meanwhile the total amount involved is amounting to
($6,000,000.00),therefore I am contacting you as a foreigner to present
you as the next of kin to this our deceased client so that the proceeds of
his account with our Bank amounting to $ 6 million US dollars can be paid
to you and then
you and I will share the money. The money can not be approved to a local
account here,it could only be approved to any foreigner with valid
information of the deceased account.

I know that you will be surprised to receive this message since we have
not met before, however this is the only way I can contact you at this
moment due to the nature of this deal. We shall know ourselves better as
soon as you indicate your interest to work with me. I just want you to
know that I have had everything planned out so that we shall come out
successful, all I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see
this deal through.

Please get back to me soonest for more information. I'm looking forward to
hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,
Victor Williams



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