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: maxwell cumming <maxwellcumming55@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 05:54:54 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE URGENTLY ( SALAM )



CHAIRMAN TENDER BOARD
OF NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM COPORATION
(N.N.P.C)
TEL:+234-80-29658063
EMAIL:okeke.w@merseymail.com

DEAR FRIEND,

I GUESS THIS LETTER MAY COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE SINCE I HAD NO PREVIOUS CORRESPONDENCE WITH YOU. I AM THE CHAIRMAN TENDER BOARD OF NIGERIA NATIONAL PETROLEUM COPORATION (NNPC) I GOT YOUR CONTACT IN THE COURSE OF MY SEARCH FOR A RELIABLE PERSON WITH WHOM TO HANDLE A VERY CONFIDENTIAL TRANSACTION INVOLVING THE TRANSFER OF FUND VALUED EIGHT MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS ($8.2M) TO A SAFE FOREIGN ACCOUNT. THE ABOVE FUND IN QUESTION IS NOT CONNECTED WITH ARMS, DRUGS OR MONEY LAUNDERING. IT IS THE PRODUCT OF OVER INVOICE ON CONTRACT AWARDED IN 2003 BY NNPC, TO A FOREIGN COMPANY FOR THE TURN
AROUND MAINTAINERS OF NIGERIA OIL REFINARIES IN KADUNA STATE,DELTA STATE,AND LAGOS STATE OF NIGERIA.THE CONTRACT HAS LONG BEEN EXECUTED AND PAYMENT OF THE ACTUAL CONTRACT AMOUNT MADE TO THE FOREIGN CONTRACTOR LEAVING THE BALANCE OF $8.2M U.S DOLLARS IN A DORMANT ACCOUNT WHICH MY COLLEAGUES AND I NOW WANT TO TRANSFER OUT OF NIGERIA INTO A RELIABLE FOREIGN ACCOUNT FOR OUR PERSONAL USE. AS CIVIL SERVANTS, WE ARE NOT ALOWED BY THE LAW TO OPERATE A FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNT.THERFORE IT BECOMES NECESSARY TO LOOK FOR A FOREIGN COMPANY WITH THE CAPABILITY TO ACT AS THE ORIGINAL BENEFICIARY OF THE CONTRACT. MY DEAR, IT IS A GOOD THING THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS ENDORSED THE RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE SENATE THAT ALL FOREIGN CONTRACTORS OWNED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA SHOULD BE PAID, WE WILL SEIZE THIS GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO PURPORT YOU AS ONE OF THE BENEFICIARIES TO BE PAID. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS PROPOSAL KINDLY SEND TO ME YOUR LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE ALONG
WITH YOUR DIRECT TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBERS, BUT IF YOU CANNOT FOR ANY REASON HANDLE THIS TRANSACTION I SHOULD BE GRATEFUL IF YOU CAN INTRODUCE IT TO A RELIABLE AND TRUST WORTHY PERSON IN WHICH IN ANY CASE YOUR INTEREST WILL BE PROPERLY TAKEN CARE OF. MEANWHILE, MY COLLEAGUES AND I HAVE DECIDED TO SHARE THE MONEY IN THE FOLLOWING RATIO: 70% FOR MY COLLLEAGUES AND I, THEN 20% FOR YOU THE ACCOUNT OWNER AND 10% FOR ALL LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPENSES THAT MAY ARISE IN THE COURSE OF THIS TRANSACTION. FUTHER DETAILS ABOUT THIS TRANSACTION WILL BE DISCUSSED IN THE SUBSEQUENT CORRESPONDENCE. THIS TRANSACTION IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL BUT 100% RISK FREE FOR BOTH OF US. NOTE ALSO THAT THE PARTICULAR NATURE OF YOUR BUSINESS IS IRRELEVANT TO THIS TRANSACTION AND THIS TRANSACTION IS EXPECTED TO BE CONCLUDED WITHIN 14 BANK WORKING DAYS SINCE ALL LOCAL CONTACTS AND ARRANGEMENTS HAVE BEEN PROPERLY PERFECTED FOR A SMOOTH AND SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF THIS TRANSACTION.
YOURS FAITHFULLY,
Dr WILLIAM OKEKE.
CHAIRMAN(TBNNPC).
N:B,PLEASE FOR THE BEST INTREST AND SECURITY OF THIS TRANSACTION,SEND YOUR REPLIES TO MY PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESS:(okeke.w@merseymail.com) AND CALL MY PRIVATE CEL PHONE:234-80-29658063, FOR MORE EXPLANATIONS, THANKS.



---------------------------------
Why keep checking for Mail? The all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta shows you when there are new messages.

Anti-fraud resources: