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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: "MR WILLIAMS MENSAH" <williams_mensah4u@walla.com> (may be fake)
Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 08:51:46 +0100
Subject: PLEASE LET US WORK TOGETHER

BARCLAYS BANK GHANA LTD, HIGH STREET BRANCH,TAKORADI,
GHANA.

DEAR,

MY NAME IS WILLIAMS MENSAH,I AM THE REGIONAL MANAGER
OF BARCLAYS BANK GHANA LTD,OF DAKAR BRANCH IN THE
WESTERN REGION OF TAKORADI ,I WRITES YOU THIS PROPOSAL
IN GOOD FAITH,I AM 42 YEARS OLD MARRIED WITH TWO
KIDS, I PACKAGED THIS FINANCIAL TRANSACTION THAT
WILL BENEFIT YOU AND I,AS THE REGIONAL MANAGER OF THE
BARCLAYS BANK.

IT IS MY DUTY TO SEND IN A FINANCIAL REPORT TO MY
HEAD OFFICE IN THE CAPITAL CITY ACCRA AT THE END OF
EACH BUSINESS YEAR. ON THE COURSE OF THE LAST YEAR
BUSINESS REPORT,I DISCOVERED THAT MY BRANCH IN WHICH I
AM THE MANAGER MADE THREE MILLION, US DOLLARS($3,
MILLION DOLLARS WHICH MY HEAD OFFICE ARE NOT AWARE OF
AND WILL NEVER BE AWARE OF.

I HAVE PLACED THIS FUNDS ON WHAT WE CALL ESCROW
ACCOUNT WITH NO BENEFICIARY. AS AN OFFICER OF THIS
BANK I CANNOT BE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THIS MONEY, SO
MY AIM OF CONTACTING YOU IS TO ASSIST ME TO RECEIVE
THIS MONEY IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT AND GET 20% OF THE
TOTAL FUNDS AS COMMISSION. THERE ARE PRACTICALLY NO
RISK INVOLVED, IT WILL BE A BANK TO BANK TRANSFER.

ALL I NEED FROM YOU IS TO STAND AS THE ORIGINAL
DEPOSITOR OF THIS FUNDS WHO MADE THE DEPOSIT WITH MY
BRANCH SO THAT MY HEAD OFFICE CAN ORDER THE TRANSFER
TO YOUR DESIGNATED BANK ACCOUNT.IF YOU ACCEPT TO WORK
WITH ME I WILL APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH AND YOU CAN
REACH ME ON MY EMAIL AS APPEARED ON THIS MAIL IF YOU
THINK WE CAN WORK TOGETHER SO THAT WE CAN GO OVER THE
DETAILS.

MY PRIVATE PHONE NUMBER IS 00233-2421-30045
EMAIL:williams_mamsah4u@walla.com FOR MORE DETAILS THAT
MIGHT REQUIRED FROM YOU.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HEAR FROM YOU FROM YOUR GOOD
HEART AS SOON AS YOU ACESS THIS MAIL.
BEST REGARDS,
WILLIAMS MENSAH






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