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.

 

 

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

Fraud email example:

From: "Maria Ortega Ramos" <fidel.nkrumah11@yahoo.ca>
Reply-To: maria.oramoss1@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2015 23:52:41 +0800
Subject: YOUR URGENT REPLY IS NEEDED




Good Day,

I am Mrs. Maria Ortega Ramos, I am the Administrative manager at a Vault
of a Financial & Security Institute here in Barcelona.
I am contacting you based on a financial opportunity I discovered here in
our bank. It’s about an abandoned sum of 26.7m US dollars (Twenty six
million seven hundred thousand United States dollars) in our safety
deposit vault, that belongs to one of our foreign customers, a citizen of
your country that shares the same last name with you, who died along with
his entire family on 11th March 2009 in a ghastly car accident in Porto
Portugal

The banking policy can only allow the release of such funds to a
benefactor through an application as next of kin to the deceased. After
his death, the bank has been expecting a possible beneficiary, but no
luck, this institute has exploited all its ethical possibilities in other
to contact his possible relation or inheritor, but no success. Since no
one has come up since six years, I have made my own research with the help
of a private investigator, it is my knowledge that this man has been
living in Barcelona for the past 22yrs and has never returned back home. I
also learnt that his wife and 13year old daughter died with him during
this accident. I am almost 110% sure that no one is aware of the existence
of these funds.

However, because of the international financial crises, a lot of reform
has been made within the Spanish Financial system, this includes the new
law on succession/claims which indicates a duration in which such
inheritance could be tolerated. The Bank of Spain has mandated our
institute to release the funds to the possible inheritor, Failure to
respond to this ultimatum would legally allow the Bank of Spain confiscate
these funds as unclaimed estate (Which of course would go straight to the
Government?s pocket). It is therefore upon this entire discovery that I
have decided to contact you. I want you to know that I am a senior member
of this office. As an insider, I am equipped with all classified secret
information regarding the release of these funds. I would be dedicated to
making sure that I feed you with all possible documentation and
information required for the approval and release of these funds.

Upon your acceptance to cooperate, I agree that 40% of this money will be
for you, 50% for me and 10% goes to any acceptable charity organization in
Spain or your country. Please note that I have ONLY discussed this with my
husband/advocate. For time difference and confidential reasons, I strongly
advise that you communicate with me via my husband’s contact details
below, this should be done firstly via fax or phone. Immediately you get
in touch with me, I would be able to inform you on how this could be
concluded.
In conclusion, it’s my concern to demand your ultimate honesty,
co-operation and confidentiality to enable us conclude this transaction.
Please keep this very confidential and do not discuss it with anybody. I
GUARANTEE that this process would be executed under a legitimate
arrangement that would legally protect you from any breach of law. Thanks
and God bless you.

Sincerely
Maria Ortega Ramos

Please contact my husband
Fernandez Ortega Ramos
Telephone: +34 655 025 079
Fax: +34 911 311 857
Email: fernandez.oramos@gmail.com

Anti-fraud resources: