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: "Peter Bryant" <consultant_bryant@msn.com>
Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 16:47:52 +0000
Subject: I AWAIT YOUR SINCERE RESPONSE.

Dear Sir/Madam,


I am Peter Bryant,a Financial Consultant Account portfolio manager based and
working in London UK, working in one of the leading finance houses and I
happen to have managed a particular account for a Resident Foreigner,here
in the United Kingdom,who died Intestate, leaving in our care a sizeable
amount in a domiciliary United States Dollars Investment Account.


For some reasons this client does not have an easily identifiable next of
Kin and I have made several enquiries to locate any of my clients relatives;
immediate and extended, this has proved unsuccessful, hence I am contacting
you "based on the fact that you have similar names". I need your assistance
in securing the money and property left behind by my client before they get
confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Finance House here in the
United Kingdom. The Finance House has already issued a Government Mandatory
formality notice to provide the Next of Kin or have the account confiscated
and this should expire within a month.


Since I have been unsuccessful in locating any of his relatives for over two
years and convinced that no one is coming up and having satisfied the
mandatory legal requirement of Beneficiary next of kin Notification, I now
seek a Reliable and Trustworthy person,with your consent and perfect
understanding, to present you as the next of kin of the deceased so that the
proceeds of this account initially valued at Twenty One Million, Three
Hundred And Twenty Thousand United States Dollars,($21,320,000) interest not
inclusive, can be paid into an account to be provided by you(preferably)
outside the United Kingdom Financial Institutions or its Isles), as the
perceived Next Of Kin Legally and Otherwise.


All I require is your honest cooperation and confidence in me; which I know
would not come easy. I guarantee that this will be executed under a
legitimate background that will protect you from any breach of the law.
I would advise that you give this positive consideration and get back to me
soon. I'll be flexible and considerate in the percentage share that will be
given to you for your assistance.


Upon receipt of your response we will exchange contact information so that
we can reach each other for further discussions.


Regards,


Peter Bryant.


Anti-fraud resources: