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.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Aziz Hassan" <azizhassan_1@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: hassan_aziz@rediffmail.com
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 07:40:50 +0000
Subject: REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP

FROM:ALHAJI AZIZ HASSAN[MON]
LAGOS,NIGERIA
TEL:234 8026165570
PRIVATE EMAIL:hassan_aziz@rediffmail.com

(REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP)

I AM A MEMBER OF THE CONTRACT AWARD PANEL WITH THE PIPELINES AND PRODUCTS
MARKETING COMPANY (P.P.M.C) A SUBSIDIARY OF NIGERIAN PETROLEUM CORPORATION.
OUR DUTIES INCLUDE EVALUATION, VETTING AND APPROVAL FOR PAYMENT OF CONTRACT
AND SERVICES RENDERED FOR THE (P.P.M.C). I HEADED A PANEL IN CHARGE OF
CONTRACT AWARD AND PAYMENTS APPROVALS. I CAME TO KNOW OF YOU IN MY SEARCH
FOR A RELIABLE AND REPUTABLE PERSON TO HANDLE A VERY CONFIDENTIAL
TRANSACTION WHICH INVOLVES THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO A FOREIGN ACCOUNT.
THERE ARE SERIES OF CONTRACTS EXECUTED BY A CONSORTIUM OF ABB LUMUS, J.G.C
CORPORATON F JAPAN, BOUYGUES OFFSHORE AND A JOINT VENTURE OF SPIEBATIGNOLES
AND THE DRESSER GMBH OF GERMANY IN FAVOUR OF THE (P.P.M.C) AMONG WHICH ARE:
1) THE EXPANSION AND MAINTENANCE OF PIPELINE NETWORK FROM
ONNE MAIN STATION TO ESCRAVOS DEPOT FOR CRUDE OIL AND
DOWNSTREAM PRODUCTS. DISTRIBUTION AND SUBSEQUENT
EVACUATION-USD$333MILLION.
2) CONTRACT FOR TURN AROUND MAINTENANCE (TAM) OF THE
VARIOUS REFINERIES IN THE COUNTRY.
3) THE EXPANSION AND CONSTRUCTION OF NEW STORAGE TANKS FOR
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS (DEPOSITS)-USD$94MILLION.
THE ORIGINAL VALUE OF THESE CONTRACTS WERE DELIBERATELY OVER-INVOICED TO THE
SUM OF TEN MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS (USD$
10.5M)WHICH HAS RECENTLY BEEN APPROVED AND NOW READY TO BE TRANSFERRED BEING
THAT THE COMPANIES THAT ACTUALLY EXECUTED THE AFOREMENTIONED CONTRACTS HAVE
BEEN FULLY PAID AND THE PROJECTS OFFICIALLY COMMISSIONED. CONSEQUENTLY, MY
COLLEAGUES AND
WE ARE WILLING TO TRANSFER THE TOTAL AMOUNT FOR SUBSEQUENT DISBURSEMENT,
SINCE WE AS CIVIL SERVANTS ARE PROHIBITED BY THE CODE OF CONDUCT (CIVIL
SERVICE LAWS)FROM OPENING AND OPERATING FOREIGN ACCOUNTS IN OUR NAMES.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE TRUST REPOSED IN YOU IS ENORMOUS, IN RETURN, WE HAVE
AGREED AMONGST OURSELVES TO OFFER YOU 20% OF THE TRANSFERRED SUM, WHILE 5%
SHALL BE SET ASIDE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL EXPENSES DURING THE COURSE OF THE
TRANSACTION. YOU WILL THEN BE MANDATED TO REVERT THE BALANCE TO US IN DUE
COURSE. YOU MUST HOWEVER NOTE THAT THIS TRANSACTION IS SUBJECT TO THE
FOLLOWING TERMS AND
CONDITIONS; OUR CONVICTION OF YOUR TRANSPARENT HONESTY, DILIGENCE AND THAT
YOU MUST ACCORD THIS TRANSACTION UTMOST SECRECY AND CONFIDENTIALTY.
MODALITIES HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE FEDERAL
MINISTRY OF FINANCE,APEX BANK OF NIGERIA AND THE PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE ON
CONTRACT PAYMENT FOR IMMEDIATE REMITTANCE OF THE FUNDS WITHIN A VERY SHORT
PERIOD OF DAYS SUBJECT TO YOUR SATISFACTION OF THE ABOVE STATED TERMS. OUR
ASSURANCE IS THAT YOUR ROLE SHALL BE TOTALLY RISK FREE. TO ACCORD THIS
TRANSACTION THE LEGALITY IT DESERVES AND
MUTUAL SECURITY OF THE FUNDS, THE WHOLE APPROVAL PROCEDURES SHALL BE
OFFICIALLY AND LEGALLY PROCESSED WITH YOUR NAME AND ANY COMPANY YOU MAY
NOMINATE AS THE BONAFIDE FINAL BENEFICIARY.
HOWEVER, I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT HAVING PUT IN 20 YEARS IN THE CIVIL
SERVICE OF MY COUNTRY, I AM MUCH AVERSE TO HAVING MY IMAGE AND CARRIER
DENTED.
THIS MATTER SHOULD BE TREATED WITH UTMOST SECRECY AND URGENCY. KINDLY
EXPEDITE ACTION AS WE ARE WELL BEHIND SCHEDULE TO ENABLE US INCLUDE THIS
TRANSFER IN THIS QUARTER OF THIS FISCAL YEAR CONTRACTUAL PAYMENTS.
I AWAIT YOUR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE ALONG WITH YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION;TEL/FAX
NUMBERS AND ADDRESS.
YOURS TRULY,
ALHAJI AZIZ HASSAN [MON].


Anti-fraud resources: