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: "dr morris" <drhoom_w@msn.com>
Reply-To: gtmail_jo@computermail.net
Date: Sat, 29 Oct 2005 20:33:10 +0000
Subject: My Dear,

My Dear,
My name is John Morris a retired Colonel in the Liberian Army, a close aide and confidant of Mr. Charles Taylor,
the former Liberian president. During the civil war in Sierra Leone (a neighbouring African country) that lasted several years, the rebel
Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which fought against the legitimate Sierra Leone government, was actively supported by former
President Charles Taylor on account of his differences with the Sierra Leone president. He provided training bases, military and political
assistance for the rebels in exchange for an unrestrained access to arguably, the second largest deposit of Diamond in the world –the
mines were under the control of the RUF.
I was the man the former president appointed in charge of all diamond transactions between the Liberian leader and the RUF. During this period,
Liberia became the conduit pipe through which all mined diamonds from Sierra Leone were sold in the international market under my watchful eyes.
This continued, until the RUF was finally routed by a government  backed international coalition led by the U.K., under the auspices of the UN, two years ago.
In a sudden twist of fate, a coalition of an anti-Taylor movement in Liberia launched a guerrilla campaign in 2000, to oust former President Taylor from power. However, following a large-scale humanitarian crises resulting from the conflict, the international community led by the US, has put pressure on Mr. Taylor to resign/step
aside, as the panacea for ending the conflict, which he finally accepted and resigned his presidency on August 11, 2003. The UN War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone also
indicted Taylor for war crimes, over his role in the Sierra Leone Civil war. As a result of this development, the former president sent me to London to solicit help on his behalf after which he adviised me to reside  in London, and up to the present time lam residing in London.Well,I have the sum of $50MUSD (Fifty million US dollars only),
Being part of the proceeds from the over 5 years diamond transaction that I supervised for the former president, and I need your co-operation in moving these funds to a safety place overseas.
I have made a perfect arrangement to move these funds into your care within a few days without risk at both ends, Please indicate your willingness to co-operate with me and provide me with your contact details (your telephone and fax etc, for confidential communications) as time is of essence.I have been reliably informed that some people send fraudulent letters to unsuspecting individuals overseas making bogus claims. Please be informed that this is not such letters as my claims are true,
authentic and verifiable. Should you have any question, feel free to contact me, but treat this transaction with absolute confidentiality.
Awaiting your prompt response,
Kind regards,
Morris
--

Anti-fraud resources: