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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.

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Fraud email example:

From: "mai muhammed" <mrs_maimuhammed@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: mrsmaimuhammed@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 02:25:45 +0000
Subject: FROM MAI

FROM THE DESK OF MRS MAI MUHAMMED
BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER
FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPT.
THE AFRICAN BANK (T A B)
OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA FASO

DEAR SIR,
I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance department
of The African Bank. I am writing, following the impressive information
about you through one of my friends who runs a consultancy firm in your
country. He assured me of your capability and reliability to champion this
business opportunity.In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of
U.S$12.5m dollars (Twelve million five hundred thousand USD) in an account
that belongs to one of our foreign customer who died along with his entire
family in November 1998 in a plane crash.
Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of
kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless
some body applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as
indicated in our banking guidlines and laws, but unfortunately welearnt
that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the
plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim. It is therefore upon this
discovery, I now decided to make this business proposal to you and release
the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety
and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don't want
this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill.The banking law
and guidine here stipulates that if such money remainedunclaimed after Seven
years, the money will be tranfered into the bank as unclaimed bill

I therefore agree that 40% of this money will be for you as foreigner
partner, in respect to the provision of a foreign account, 10% will be set
aside for expenses incured during the business and 50% would be for me.There
after I will visit your country for disbursement according to the
percentages indicated.Therefore, to enable the immediate transfer of this
fund to you as arranged, you must apply first to the bank as relation or
next of kin to the deceased
indicating your bank name, your bank account number, your
private telephone and fax number for easy and effective communication and
location where in the money will be remitted.I will not fail to bring to
your notice that this transaction is hitch-freeand that you should not
entertain any atom of fear as all required arrangements have been made for
the transfer. You should contact me immediately as soon as you recieve this
letter. Trusting to hear from you

immediately.

Yours faithfully,

MRS MAI MUHAMMED


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