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: "MR EMMANUEL AGU" <emmanuelagu@myway.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: emmanuelagu01@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2004 10:59:01 +0400
Subject: WITH FAITH

DEAR FRIEND,


AS YOU READ THIS LETTER, PLEASE DONT FEEL SORRY FOR ME. BECAUSE I
BELIEVE EVERYONE WILL DIE SOME DAY.I AM A MERCHANT IN DUBAI,IN THE U.A.E
I HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH ESOPHAGEAL CANCER WHICH WAS DISCOVERED VERY
LATELY, DUE TO MY LAXITY IN CARING FOR MY HEALTH.


IT HAS DEFILED ALL FORMS OF MEDICINE, AND AT PRESENT I HAVE ONLY
ABOUT A FEW MONTHS TO LIVE,ACCORDING TO MEDICAL EXPERTS. HAVE NEVER
PARTICULARLY LIVED MY LIFE SO WELL,AS I NEVER REALLY CARED FOR ANYONE,
NOT EVEN MYSEF BUT MY BUSSINESS. THOUGH I AM VERY RICH,BUT NEVER
GENEROUS,I WAS ALWAYS HOSTILE TO PEOPLE, AND I ONLY FOCUSED ON MY
BUSSINESS AS THAT WAS THE ONLY THING I CARED FOR. BUT NOW I REGRET ALL
THIS AS I NOW KNOW THAT THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN HAVING ALL THE MONEY
IN THE WORLD.


I BELIEVE WHEN GOD GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE TO COME TO THIS WORLD I
WILL LIVE MY LIFE IN A DIFFERENT WAY FROM HOW I HAVE LIVED BEFORE. NOW
THAT GOD HAS CALLED ME THROUGH THIS WAY, I HAVE WILLED AND GIVEN OUT
MOST OF MY PROPERTIES AND ASSETS TO MY IMMEDIATE AND EXTENDED FAMILY,
AS WELL AS FEW CLOSE FRIENDS. I WANT GOD TO BE MERCUFULL TO ME AND
ACCEPT MY SOUL, AND SO I HAVE DECIDED TO GIVE ALMS TO CHARITY
ORGANIZATIONS, AS I WANT THIS TO BE ONE OF THE LAST GOOD DEEDS I DID ON
EARTH.


SO FAR, I HAVE DISTRIBUTED SO MUCH MONEY TO CHARITY ORGANIZATION IN
U.A.E IN ALGERIA AND MALAYSIA. NOW THAT MY HEALTH AS DETERIORETED SO
BADLY,I CAN NOT DO THIS MYSELF ANY MORE. I ONCED ASKED MY FAMILY MEMBERS
TO CLOSE ONE OF MY ACCOUNTS, AND DISTRIBUTE THE FUNDS WHICH I HAVE
GIVEN TO CHARITY ORGANIZATION IN BULGARIA AND PAKISTAN, THEY REFUSED AND
KEPT THE MONEY TO THEMSELF. HENCE I DO NOT TRUST THEM ANY MORE, AS THEY
SEEMS NOT TO BE CONTENT WITH WHAT I HAVE LEFT FOR THEM.


THE LAST OF THE FUNDS WHICH NO ONE KNOWS OF IS THE HUGE CASH
DEPOSIT OF ($5,000.000.000) IN EUROPE WITH A CARGO/ SHIPPING SECURITY
FIRM. I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU CAN BE OF GOOD HELP TO DISPATCH THE FUND TO
CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS. I HAVE SET ASIDE 20% PERCENT FOR YOU FOR YOUR
TIME AND PATIENCE. MAY GOD BE WITH YOU AS YOU HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE A
BOLD STEP TO HEAL THE WORLD WITH ME OR EVEN IN MY DEMISE ...... CONTACT
ME AT MY PRIVATE MAIL ADDRESS

BEST REGARDS.

MR Emmanuel Agu





Anti-fraud resources: