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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.

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

Fraud email example:

From: "MR MICHAEL AKWA" <michael_akwa@wanadoo.es> (may be fake)
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005 05:00:13 -0700
Subject: ASSISTANCE REQUIRED FOR ACQUISITION OF ESTATE IN YOUR COUNTRY.

FROM MR MICHAEL AKWA
GHANA WEST AFRICAN

TO :


DEAR FRIEND ,
RE : BUSINESS COLLABORATION WITH YOU.

I AM WRITING TO CRAVE YOUR INDULGENGE TO SHARE THIS GREAT LIFE OPPORTUNITY WITH US. WE HAVE THE SUM OF ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS(USD150,000,000.00) REALISED AS OVERINVOICE FROM THE USD2.5BN PORTS OVERALL A/Q/D/ FOR 2005. WE WANT TO GET A RELIABLE PARTNER LIKE YOU AS A RELIABLE PERSON WHOSE ACCOUNT COULD BE USED TO GET THIS FUND OUT OF GHANA WEST AFRICA. THIS TRANSACTION IS LEGAL, GENUINE AND RISKFREE AND WOULD BE CONCLUDED WITHIN 72 HOURS ON GETTING YOUR CONSENT AND THE REQUIRED ACCOUNT DETAILS. SHARING FORMULAR SHOULD BE DISCUSSED ON THE AGREEMENT DRAFT THAT IS ATTACHED BELOW. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS THE ONLY THING THAT IS NEEDED FROM YOU :

YOUR FULL NAME.................................
ADDRESS...............................................
DATE OF BIRTH.....................................
PLACE OF BIRTH...................................
PROFESSION.........................................
MARRITAL STATUS...............................
CELL PHONE.........................................
LAND PHONE.........................................
FAX NUMBER........................................
E-MAIL ADDRESS...................................
NAME OF BANK.....................................
ADDRESS OF BANK................................
ACCOUNT NUMBER................................
SWIFT CODE...........................................
REGARDS,
MR MICHAEL AKWA.


Anti-fraud resources: