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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: "tonykalu" <tonykalu@terra.com.mx>
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 09:08:25 -0600
Subject: Hello Merritt


Hello Merritt,
I am Barrister ANTHONY KALU, a Solicitor, and the Personal Attorney to GEORGE BRUMLEY Jr,a foreign client who died along with his entire family in a plane crash that happened in Kenya, East Africa. Since i got information about his death, i have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because the bank where his money were lodged 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 i learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim.
Since then I have made several enquiries to locate any of my clients extended relatives, this has also proved unsuccessful.After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his relatives over the Internet, to locate any member of his family but of no avail, hence I contacted you. I have contacted you to assist in repatriating the money that belong to my client before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank where this huge deposits were lodged.
Please I want you to visit the website below for more information about the Plane Crash:
www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/20/kenya.crash/index.html
Particularly, the Bank where the deceased had an account valued at about 10 million dollars has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin or have the account confiscated within the next ten official working days. since i have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for almost 2 years now I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since you are a foreigner and bear foreign name, so that the proceeds of this account valued at $10 million dollars can be paid to you and then you and me can share the money. 55% to me and 40% to you,while 5% should be for expenses or tax as your government may require,I have the certificate of deposit that can be used to back up any claim we may make. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us see this deal through.
I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.Please get in touch with me by my email to enable us discuss further. I WILL OBTAIN AFFIDAVIT FROM COURT WHEN YOU RESPOND TO ME. MEANWHILE RESPOND TO ME THROUGH MY ALTERNATIVE E/MAIL BELOW:
tony_kalu300@hotmail.com
Best regards,
Anthony Kalu esq.

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