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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: "Teddy Thomas" <teddy_thomas1968@yahoo.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: teddy_4thomas@rediff.com
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 22:07:14 +0400
Subject: Urgent respond

FROM THE DESK: MR.TEDDY THOMAS
FOREIGN-OPERATIONS UNIT
NATWEST BANK PLC.
FREEPOST NAT12685
421 LOTHBURY,
LONDON EC2BP
UNITED KINGDOM.
Dear Friend,
I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance
department of NATWEST BANK PLC here in London. In my department we discovered
an abandoned sum of 15.5M POUNDS STERLING (Fifteen million, five
hundred thousand pounds) in an account that belongs
to one of our foreign customer (MR. ANDREAS SCHRANNER from Munich,
Germany)who worked with Shell Oil Development London and died while on
holiday in Germany with his entire family in July 2000 in a plane crash.
Please check the B.B.C news link below for more information on his
death.

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm>

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his
next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it
unless some body applies for it as next of kin or relation to the
deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines and laws but unfortunately
we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside
with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim. It is
therefore upon this discovery that I
now decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money
to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and
subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and we don't want
this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill.
The banking law and guidelines here stipulates that if such money
remained unclaimed after five years, the money will be transferred into the
bank treasury as unclaimed fund. The request of a foreigner as next of
kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a
foreigner.
I agree that 30% of this money will be for you as a respect for the
provision of a foreign account, 10% will be set aside for expenses
incurred during the business and 60% would be for me. Thereafter, I will visit
your country for disbursement according to the percentage indicated. To
enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you arranged.
You must apply first to the bank as relation or next of kin of the
deceased , you will be required to provide for me your full name ,permanent
address and private telephone and fax number for easy and effective
communication and location where the money will be remitted. Upon receipt
of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text of the
application. I will not fail to bring to your notice this transaction is
hitch-free and that you should not
entertain any atom of fear as all required arrangements have been made
for the transfer. You should contact me immediately you receive this
letter.
Please ensure to keep our transaction strictly confidential until the
fund remittance is complete.
I await your reply.
Yours faithfully,
MR.TEDDY THOMAS
FOREIGN-OPERATION UNIT.
NATWEST BANK PLC.


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