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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: "DR RICHARD IKPE" <richykpe@terra.com.mx>
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 07:46:02 -0600
Subject: DEAR SIR !!!



OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN
CONTRACT AWARD COMMITTEE
FEDERAL MIN.OF AGRICULTURE
HEADQUATER- ABUJA
NIGERIA.
RE: TRANSFER OF AN OVER-INVOICED SUM OF $21.5MILLION
____________________________________________________
(TWENTY-ONE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND US DOLLARS)
_____________________________________________________
INTO A FOREIGN ACCOUNT.
_____________________________________________________

DEAR SIR/MADAM,
I AM DR. RICHARD IKPE, CHAIRMAN,CONTRACT AWARD COMMITTEE IN THE
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE HEADQUARTERS,ABUJA - NIGERIA.

I AM IN NEED OF YOUR GENUINE ASSISTANCE AND TRUST BECAUSE AS A
TOP OFFICIAL OF THE RULING GORVERNMENT,
I WANT TO SAFEGUARD MY INTEREST IN YOUR COUNTRY BEFORE THE END OF
THE TENURE OF THIS ADMINITRATION.
MORESO,AS CIVIL SERVANTS, WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO OWN OR OPERATE
FOREIGN ACCOUNTS, HENCE A FOREIGNER IS NEEDED IN THIS TRANSACTION.

I PRESENTLY HAVE AN OVER-INVOICED CONTRACT PAYMENT OF
USD21.5M(TWENTY-ONE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED
THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLAR) CORNERED FROM A JOB AWARDED BY MY
MINISTRY,WHICH HAS REMAINED UNCLAIMED SINCE 2000.
MY SUPERIOR IN THE PRESIDENCY HAVE MANDATED ME TO PRESENT A HONEST
FOREIGNER WHO CAN CONVENIENTLY PROTECT THIS FUND FOR US IN HIS/HER
COUNTRY'S BANK ACCOUNT.
I SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN BE OF GREAT ASSISTANCE TO US
HENCE I AM CONTACTING YOU AND ALSO REQUESTING FOR YOUR
DISCRETION,MATURITY AND CO-OPERATION.MY SUPERIOR HAS COMPLETED ALL
ADMINISTRATIVE STEPS TO SEE THAT THIS FUND RECEIVES ALL THE
REQUESTED APPROVALS IMMEDIATELY YOU GIVE ME THE GO AHEAD.

ALL I NEED FROM YOU ARE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION.

(1) YOUR FULL NAME AND ADDRESS.THIS WILL ENABLE ME MAKE JOB
DESCRIPTION TO THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE IN YOUR FAVOUR AS
A CONTRACTOR

(2) YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBERS FOR EASY
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN US.
PLEASE SEND YOUR POSITIVE RESPONSE TO MY PRIVATE EMAIL BOX
ikperichy@myway.com TO ENABLE ME GIVE YOU FURTHER BRIEFINGS.
THIS TRANSACTION IS HITCH-FREE, SO YOU NEED NOT ENTERTAIN ANY FEAR.

AWAITING YOUR MAIL

BEST REGARDS,

DR.RICHARD IKPE.

NOTE:THIS EMAIL MAY BE SENT TWICE BECAUSE I WANT TO ENSURE THAT IT GETS TO YOU. A TRAIL WILL DEFINITELY CONVINCE YOU.

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