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: "basile amousou" <basileamousou3@msn.com>
Reply-To: basileamousou_personal@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 17:45:24 +0000
Subject: Wilmer




Prince Basile Amousou.

Republic of Benin

Cotonou.

22/12/2005.


Sir/Madam,

I want to transfer to overseas ($5,125.000.00 USD) Five Million One Hundred
Twenty Five Thousand United States Dollars) from our Finance Institution
here in Benin. I have the courage to ask for your assistance to handle this
important and confidential business to provide either an existing bank
account or to set up a new Bank a/c immediately to receive this money, even
an empty a/c can serve to receive this funds quitely.

I am Prince Basile Amousou the accountant in one of the leading Finance
House in Benin and Account Officer to Dr. Ravindra F. Shah, unfortunately he
died together with his wife Dr. Mrs. Manjula Parikh-Shah in the tragic plane
crash of Union Transport Africaines Flight Boeing 727 in Cotonou, Benin
Republic on the December 25, 2003. You will read more stories about the
crash on visiting the below website
:www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/12/26/benin.crash/

Mr. Ravindra F. Shah, is an India/American, a Physician and Industrialist,
he died December 25, 2003 without having any beneficiary to his assets
including his account here in BENIN which he opened with our Finance House
in the year 2000 as his personal savings for the purpose of expansion and
development of his company before his untimely death occurred to him in
2003.

The amount involved is (USD 5.125.000.00 USD) Five Million One Hundred
Twenty Five Thousand United States Dollars and no other person knows about
this account.

I am contacting you for me to transfer this funds to your account as the
beneficiary, I am only contacting you as a foreigner because this money
cannot be approved to a local person here, without valid International
Foreign Passport, but can only be approved to any Foreigner with valid
international Passport or Drivers License and a Foreign a/c because the
money is in US Dollars and the former owner of the a/c Mr.Ravindra F. Shah
is a foreigner and from American too, and as such the money can only be
approved into a foreign a/c.

However, I am revealing this to you with believe in God that you will never
let me down in this business.You are the first and the only person that I am
contacting for this business, so please reply urgently so that I will inform
you the next step to take urgently. Send also your private telephone and fax
number including the full details of the account to be used for the
transfer.

The Identification pages of your international passport or Drivers
License.Our institution is ready to approve this payment to any foreigner
who has correct information of this account, which I will give to you, upon
your positive response and once I am convinced that you are capable and will
meet up with instruction of a key institution official who is deeply
involved with me in this business.

At the conclusion of this business, you will be given 40% of the total
amount,60% will be for me. I look forward to your earliest reply through my
Email:

Yours faithfully,
Prince Basile Amousou.



Anti-fraud resources: