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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: "ENGR. MICHAEL EGBUZIE" <engrmichael_egbu@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: engrmichael_egbuzie@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:30:09 -0900
Subject: URGENT ATTENTION NEEDED

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT
FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY
GARKI-ABUJA, NIGERIA.
PLEASE REPLY TO THESE BOX.
engmichael_egbuzie@yahoo.com
MOBILE TEL;234 802 710 9113
DEAR SIR,
I WRITE THIS LETTER WHICH I PRAY SHOULD BE URGENTLY
REPLIED.
I GOT YOUR CONTACT DURING MY YEAR OF SERVICE IN THE
FOREIGN MINISTRY.
I ENG.MICHAEL EGBUZIE, PRESENTLY THE DIRECTOR OF THE
FINANCE IN THE FEDERAL IN ABOVE MINISTRY.
I AM IN NEED OF YOUR KIND ASSISTANT AND TRUST
BECAUSE AS A SENIOR OFFICIAL IN THE PRESENT RULING GORVERNMENT, I AM NOT
AUTHORISED BY THE CODE OF CONDUCT BUREAU, TO OWN OR OPERATE A FOREIGN
ACCOUNT.
I PRESENTLY HAVE AN OVER INVOICED CONTRACT PAYMENT OF
USD8.5M(EIGHT MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND USA
DOLLARS) WHICH HAS REMAINED UNCLAIMED SINCE 1997 BUT NOW WITH THE REASON OF
MY POLITICAL AMBITION UPON MY RETIREMENT, I HAVE DECIDED TO USE YOU TO PULL
OUT THIS MONEY FROM THE FEDERATION RESERVE ACCOUNT.
I HAVE CONVIENIENTLY COMPLETED ALL ADMINISTRATIVE STEPS
TO SEE THAT THIS FUND RECEIVES ALL VITAL GOVERNMENT
APPROVALS AND HAVE ARRANGED WITH A LAWYER WHO WILL FILE ALL DOCUMENTS OF
CLAIM ON YOUR BEHALF.
ALL I NEED FROM YOU ARE THE FOLLOWING, YOUR FULL NAMES AND ADDRESS, YOUR
COMPANYS NAME AND ADDRESS,YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE &FAX NUMBERS, WHILE YOU
SHOULD BE ARRANGING FOR A GOOD BANK ACCOUNT WHERE THE CREDIT WILL BE LODGED
UPON FINAL RELEASE ORDER APPROVAL BY THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE &
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA.
AS A NOTE, BE ALSO AWAY THAT ALL THE TRANSACTION DOCUMENTS WILL BE PERFECTED
IN YOUR NAME AS A CONTRACTOR WHO EXECUTED THE ABOVE CONTRACT HERE IN NIGERIA
WORTH $8.5M.
YOU WILL BE ENTITLED TO 30% OF THE TOTAL FUND AS A COMPENSATION FOR YOUR
ASSISTANCE UPON MY ARRIVAL IN YOUR COUNTRY HOME FOR SHARING,WHILE 10% WILL
COVER ALL MISCALLANEOUS EXPENSES THAT MAY ARISE DURING THE PROCESS(IF ANY)
I SINCERELY COUNT ON YOUR ASSISTANCE,REMEMBER MY
HIGHLY PLACED POSITION HENCE I EXPECT ABSOLUTE
DISCRETION FROM YOU IN ORDER TO PROTECT OUR HONOUR
FROM FOREIGN JOURNALIST WHO SEEK TO DESTROY ONES IMAGE.
I AM EXPECTING YOUR REPLY IMMEDIATELY.
BEST REGARDS,
ENG.MICHAEL EGBUZIE
MOBILE TEL;234 802 710 9113


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