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: "David Moore" <d_moore004@msn.com>
Reply-To: david_moore1@myway.com
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 11:11:28 +0000
Subject: I NEED YOUR COOPERATION IN THIS.

MY GOOD FRIEND,

I WOULD LIKE TO FIRSTLY SEND TO YOU THE BEST WISHES OF THE SEASON, GOOD
HEALTH AND SUCCESS IN YOUR PURSUITS PARTICULARLY THROUGH MY PROPOSAL AS
CONTAINED IN THIS LETTER. BEFORE GOING INTO DETAILS OF MY PROPOSAL TO YOU, I
MUST FIRST IMPLORE YOU TO TREAT WITH THE UTMOST CONFIDENTIALITY AS THIS IS
REQUIRED FOR ITS SUCCESS AND TO HAVE FAITH IN THIS TRANSACTION, FOR
OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THIS ONLY COMES TO ONE ONCE IN A LIFE TIME.

I AM DR. DAVID MOORE,THE PERSONAL ATTORNEY TO THE LATE MR. MICHEAL SAMSON, A
NATIONAL OF YOUR COUNTRY WHO LOST HIS LIFE IN A PLANE CRASH ON 4TH MAY,
2002.

MR. MICHEAL SAMSON, HEREINREFERED TO MY LATE CLIENT WORKED FOR OANDO
PETROLEUM PLC IN NIGERIA BEFORE HIS DEATH.

MY LATE CLIENT DEPOSITED THE SUM OF US12.8 MILLION DOLLARS IN HIS BANK
BEFORE HE LOST HIS LIFE.

THE PROBLEM NOW IS THAT THE BANK WHERE MY LATE CLIENT DEPOSITED THIS FUND
HAVE SERVED ME A NOTICE THAT THE FUNDS WILL BE ONFISCATED IF I FAIL TO
PROVIDE A NEXT-OF-KIN TO MY LATE CLIENT WITHIN THE NEXT 2 MONTHS, A
SITUATION WHICH WILL BE MOST UNFORTUNATE BECAUSE I KNOW HOW MY LATE CLIENT
WORKED VERY HARD TO EARN HIS MONEY, ONLY FOR HIM TO DIE JUST WHEN HE WAS
ABOUT TO TO RETIRE.

HE WAS A WIDOWER BEFORE HIS UNTIMELY DEATH, MORESO, HIS LATE WIFE DID NOT
BEAR ANY CHILD FOR HIM. AND I AM NOT IN A POSITION TO LAY CLAIM TO THE FUND
BECAUSE I AM NOT A FOREIGNER LIKE YOU AND MR. MICHEAL SAMSON.

I SEEK YOUR CONSENT TO BE PRESENTED AS HIS NEXT-OF-KIN SO THAT THE FUNDS CAN
BE RELEASED TO YOU SINCE YOU AND MY LATE CLIENT ARE BOTH FOREIGNERS, AND HIS
BANK WILL CERTAINLY BELIEVE YOU ARE RELATED TO HIM.
EVERYTHING WILL BE HANDLED LEGALLY TO AVOID ANY BREACH TO THE LAW. I HAVE
DECIDED THAT THE SHARING MODALITY FOR THE FUND SHALL BE 50% FOR EACH OF US.

SEND YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER TO ME FOR EASY COMMUNICATION.

I WILL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR INDICATION OF INTEREST SO THAT WE CAN
PROCEED WITH THE PROCESS OF CLAIMING THE FUND IMMEDIATELY.

YOURS SINCERELY,
DR. DAVID MOORE


Anti-fraud resources: