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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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "John Toon" <margundychamber@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 17:26:21 +0000
Subject: FROM THE PRIVATE DESK OF BARRISTER JOHN TOON.

John Toon & Associates
Margundy Chambers Barristers & Solicitors
527 Lea Bridge Road,
Leyton, London
E10 6AJ

Dear Sir/Madam

I acknowledge the receipt of your email. I am very pleased with your swift
response as regards to my maiden mail to you and will want to assure you
that this is not a scam, and you are very safe and will have no course to
regret anything as regards this transaction. I know that you are fit to
carry on this transaction and whereby you are not, you can get a trusted
person that will assist me conclude this transaction. Let me now give you a
more comprehensive detail and how we shall proceed forward but before I do
that, I will tell you more about myself.

I am Barrister John Toon and I am 49 yrs old. I am married to a lovely wife
and blessed with three kids, a boy and two girls. My wife Serah is a nurse
and works with the general hospital here in UK. We all will finally come
over to your country home as soon as this fund gets into your account. This
is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime and I have decided to make
good use of it. Honestly, my contacting you is just a practical fate and I
believe that God has a purpose making us meet or know each other via this
medium.

I sincerely hope that we will work together in truth without having any atom
of greed to cheat on each other, as I do believe that this business will
certainly bring us together for good business and friendship as well as
lasting relationship. It is important that you understand that you are the
most important person as far as this transaction is concerned because these
funds will come into your account and in your name so I will need your word
that you will not in any way double-cross me.

Please do understand that this transaction is risk free as I have perfected
all necessary arrangements towards the smooth success of the business.
Please I will appreciate if you will tell me more about your good self. I am
confident that we both will work in spirit and in
truth with God’s guidance to actualize the transaction. At this point I wish
to explain the content of my mail, you must not be a biological relative of
the deceased because any one could decide to WILL out his fortune to any
body of his choice. It is a personal decision to make in any individuals
life including yours. So the WILL is going to be legally drafted to your
favor and presented by I, the personal attorney to the deceased; I hope you
get a clear picture of what I am talking about?

It is now my duty to secure this instead of letting it get confiscated or
declared unserviceable by the finance firm here in Europe. The court will
accept whomever I present as the beneficiary. Please for your information I
don’t need your money in this regard. All I need is your sincerity and
trust. The finance firm would only allow this whole fund get into your
account first at the end of the transfer processes, and it’s only then would
I have access to this fund. You then will have to send 60% of this whole
fund to me. I know with this offer you don’t have to think other wise in
letting me down by the time this whole fund finally gets into your account.
For the last time be of the best intentions towards this. I have suffered
for this and will and must have to get paid.

If you are doing this with me with the best of your mind, this is what I
will need to get to the next level of it as fast as possible. I will need to
first get an approval of this transfer on your name before we even stay sure
that this is even happening because without the approval of this on your
name we are completely out of it. Whatever charges this might take to
provide this will be taken care off by me. However, to enable me commence
the necessary legal Documents at the High Court (Her Majesty Crown Court)
here in UK, so as to authenticate you as the relative and next of kin of my
late client I shall require the following information from you.

Full names......
Mailing Address............
Sex.............
Age............
Occupation............
Marital status.............
Nationality..............
Tel & Fax No..............

Thanks for your audience so far and welcome.

Best regards.
John Toon esq.

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