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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: "Kelvin Roland." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <kelroland03@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 May 2017 17:20:56 -0700
Subject: Hello,

Hello,
 
Please accept my sincere apologies if my letter does not meet your business or personal ethics.  My name is Kelvin Roland. I am a financial consultant with Wing Lung bank Hong Kong www.winglungbank.com.  I am utilizing this rare opportunity to introduce this business proposal to you. We have a dormant account with holding balance of Twenty-Five Million United States Dollars (USD25,000.000.00) for the past ten years. With a thorough investigation, we have confirmed that the owner of this account Mr.  Albert died interstate in Hong Kong a citizen of your country.
 
We have just passed the maximum holding period for claims to be made on the account. The result of our investigation indicated that no one has made any claims with regards to his estate in Hong Kong and no family member has any knowledge of the existence of either the account or the fund.  We also discovered that the Information from the National Immigration centre also indicated that he was single on entry into Hong Kong.
 
I have therefore decided to introduce you as the next of kin to the deceased as both of you share the same Last Name. I have confidently assessed the files of the deceased and will use my good office to convince them beyond reasonable doubt to release the fund to you as the next of kin to the deceased owner of the estate.
 
The fund will be released to you after necessary processes have been followed and we will then split the funds 50% / 50% each. This transaction is 100% risk free as the fund is legitimate and does not originate from an illegal act.
Kindly reply to my private email: kelroland02@gmail.com to indicate your interest.  Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
 
Regards,
Kelvin Roland.
 

Anti-fraud resources: