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: "musa ibrahim" <m.ibrahim14@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: musa_ibrahim6@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 15:54:50 +0000
Subject: READ CAREFULLY AND CALL ME.

FROM Mr MUSA IBRAHIM.
AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING UNIT.
FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPT.
AFRICAN DEVELOPEMENT BANK(A.D.B)
OUAGA-BURKINA FASO.
TEL:+226-764-144-86.


Dear Friend,

With presumed reliance, let me introduce myself. My name is Mr Musa Ibrahim.
I am the auditing and accounting officer of African Developement Bank
(A.D.B). I got your contact over the Internet in my search for the relatives
of one of our numerous customers who died alongside with his family in
Car Accident.

During the routine check in my branch, I discovered an abandoned sum of
fiveteen million eight hundred thousand united states dollars,(USD$15.8m).
in an account belonging to an expatriate customer Mr. Alex Otaman, a mining
consultant/contractor with one of the leading oil company in
Ouaga-Burkina Faso before his accidental death on Saturday 4Th May 2000 in
Bobo via the ill-fated.

Ever since then, valuable efforts have been made to get to his people but to
no avail, as he had no known relatives and more so, he used his wife's name
as his next of kin in his account opening forms. I have been expecting his
relatives to come over to claim his money as it cannot be claimed
unless somebody applies officially for it as his next of kin as indicated in
our banking guide but no avail. Unfortunately, I discovered that his
supposed next of kin (his wife and children) died with him over the car
incident. Over the years, I decided to look for the necessary papers
relating to
the deposit in order to make business out of it as the deposit was made in
my branch. Now that all papers are ready, I am asking for your assistant to
release the money to you as his relation/next of kin for safekeeping and
subsequent disbursement. I know that a transaction of this magnitude
will make any one apprehensive but I am assuring you of the Security of us
all as modalities have been perfected for a swift and smooth operation.

You are being contacted because Since nobody showed up for his money and I
don't want it to go back into Burkina Faso Government account as unclaimed
bill when the next audit is conducted. The banking law and guideline here
stipulates that such money if remain unclaimed, will be transferred
into banking treasury as unclaimed effect. The request of a foreigner to act
as next of kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that the customer
was a foreigner and a citizen of Burkina Faso cannot stand as next of kin to
a foreigner. I am ready to negotiate the mode of sharing with you. I will
visit your country for the disbursement/investing of my share according to
the percentages we shall agree upon after the successful transfer of the
money to your account.

I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is 100%
hitch-free and that there is absolutely no risk in it, having concluded the
modalities for a smooth operation and my position in the bank guarantees its
successful execution. All I require is your honest co-operation, a
guarantee of your sincerity and capability to enable us conclude this deal.
Note however that the sensitive nature of this transaction demands that you
have to keep it absolutely confidential.

Please accept my apologies, keep my confidence and disregard this letter if
you do not appreciate this proposition. Thank you very much for your time.

Trusting to hear from you immediately,

Best regards,
Mr Musa Ibrahim.
TEL:+226-764-144-86.

_________________________________________________________________
Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search!
http://search.msn.com/


Anti-fraud resources: