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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "linda martins" <linda_martins364@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 08:54:50 +0000
Subject: DIAMOND AND MONEY TRANSFER.

DEAR SIR/MADM,
I GOT YOUR CONTACT IN THE CAUSE OF MY SERIOUS SEARCH FOR A RELIABLE FOREIGN
PARTNER THROUGH A PROFILE WHICH CONVINCED ME OF YOUR WIDE EXPERIENCES IN
BUSINESS HOW EVER,I AM COL. LINDA MARTINS,ONE OF THE FODEH SANKOH
REVOLUNTIONAL UNITED FRONT(R.U.F)IN SIERRA LEONE IN WEST AFRICA.SIR,I
CONFIND IN YOU NOW HOPING YOU WILL NOT BETRAY ME AT LAST.MY MOST REQUIRED
CONCERN IS FOR YOU TO TAKE ME AS YOUR BEST FRIEND WHILE ESTABLISHING A LONG
LASTING RELATIONSHIP.PRESENTLY,I AM IN DAKAR–SENEGAL WITH THE SUN OF NINE
POINT FIVE MILLION US DOLLARS(US$9.5M).AND ALSO 3KILOGRAMES OF DIAMOND.THIS
MONEY WAS REALISED FROM THE SALES OF DIAMOND WHEN THE REVOLUTION
MOVEMENT(R.U.F)CONQUERED ONE OF THE DIAMOND REGIONS,BY THEN I WAS THE
COMMANDER AND THE MONEY WAS KEPT UNDER MY CONTROL FOR THE PURCHASE OF ARMS
FROM UKRAINE.IT WAS A SITUATION OF WAR SO I CONSIDERED IT AS MY CHANCE AND
THEN MOVED IMMEDIATELY TO DAKAR-SENEGAL AND DEPOSITED THIS FUND AND THE
DIAMOND IN A SECURITY COMPANY FOR SAFTY.SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR A
NICE BUSINESS TO INVEST THIS FUND INTO.SIR,MY AIM OF CONTACTING YOU IS TO
HELP AND ASSIST ME TO TRANSFER THIS FUND TO YOUR COUNTRY AND HELP ME TO GET
A PROFITABL BUSINESS FOR IMPORTATION OR FOR INVESTMENT ANY WHERE IN OVERSEA
COUNTRIES,ALL THESE ARE BASED ON YOUR PROFESSIONAL AND EXPERT ADIVSE.NOTE
THAT A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THIS FUND WOULD BE GIVEN TO YOU AS A
COMPENSATION FOR ALL YOUR ASSISTANCE.PLEASE SIR REPLY FAST SO THAT
ARRANGEMENTS WILL STARTE IMMEDIATELY ON HOW TO MOVE THIS FUN TO YOUR
COUNTRY.PLEASE KEEP THIS WITH UTMOST SECRECY AND CONFIDENTIALITY AS YOU CAN
UNDERSTAND MY PRESENT CONDITION IN DAKAR
SENEGAL.BECAUSE I AM INTO HIDING.
THANKS FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION
YOURS SINCERLY.
COL. LINDA MARTINS.

_________________________________________________________________
Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search!
http://search.msn.com/

Anti-fraud resources: