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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

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

Fraud email example:

From: "Ted Mensah" <tedmensah@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: tedbakermensah@walla.com
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 21:07:31 +0000
Subject: ASSISTANCE/INVESTMENT

Dear Friend,

I don't want you to be surprised about how I got your
contact address, I got your contact from a good samarithan's woman that
worked in Ghana chamber of commerce and industries. Though I did not
disclose the nature of this transaction to her. I told her that I would need
a very capable person that can assist me to further my education in abroad.
You might have heard about rumours that some bad people use the internet to
send out their fraud-mails but I want you to believe that this is not that
kind of offer and it is not a stolen money from government account or drug
money.
There are many fraudulent activities all over in this world
even in America as a whole but still want you to know that there are many
good businesses in the world, every fake businesses there must be an
original, the only thing is that it is only Almighty God that can protect
and direct us to the good ones . This funds is the only hope that I have on
this earth and atthe moment is beyond my reach. I would be very glad if
you can be my foreign guarantor to assist me claim us$5m that deposited with
my late father with a security company. This funds is sealed airtight in a
silver aluminium boxes. My father's didn't registered the contents of this
boxes as funds, he registered it as his family treasury bill for many
security reasons. I am the next of kin to my late father's vault account. I
contacted the security company for the claim of my late father's deposited
boxes but due to my underage {26 years old}, the security company demanded
for my guarantor that will claim the boxes for me to avoid any future
controversy because my father registered that I should clock 30 years upward
before having access or right to withdraw this boxes.
Now what I need from you is to send me your full name,
contact address, personal telephone number so that I can put in an
application letter with this your information and forawrd it to the security
company as my foreign guarantor. I will change the new ownership certificate
to your name so that we can have a power of attorney to athourize the
security company to let me withdraw one of the box that valued us$3m here
so that I can take the box to a reputable bank here and transfer it to your
foreign account. If I have access to the box, I will open an account here in
your name and deposited the funds before onward transfer to your final
account in your country.
While transfering the funds we are going to obtain all the
necessary certificates/documents that will prove to your bank and country
that the source of this funds in genuine. This transaction is 100% safe and
risk-free. After you might have transfer the first box that valued us$3m,
you will now believed and have 100% trust and hope in me for us to transfer
the second box. You can also come forward so that we start the transaction
together, seen is believing. I want you to keep this transaction
confidential, because there is no head that want another head to be greater
than him/her and if they see that this is an opportunity that will make you
be greater than them.

I will be waiting to hear from you soon so that I can tell you what next to
do. I will also send you a deposit certificate for your verifications.
Please reply me through this my confidential e-mail address
tedbakermensah@walla.com for many security reasons.

Best Regards,

Ted baker mensah.


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