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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: CYNTHIA WOODWARD <cynthiawood12@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 03:17:03 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL


TSB BANK PLC.
25 Grensham street
London
EC2V7HN
Accountant.
Miss. Cynthia O.Wood.
Dear,
I am a lady accountant with a bank here in london. There is a fixed deposit of £150,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Pounds Starling) made to this bank since 1994 which ten years now and since then no clam or withdrawal have been made on that deposit.

Fortunately, I have been the person working the interest from the day of deposit to date. The interesting part of it is that the fixed deposit belongs to the late Nigerian dictator General Sani Abacha, this means that the account may have been abandoned by the surviving family members or that they are not even aware of the existence of the deposit.
However, I just finished updating the interest of the deposit this
January, and it has come up to £10,500,000.00 at the 7% interest rate per annum. It is this interest that I am interested in because I know very well that the family will care less on what happens to the interest if they want to redeem the deposit, they will be interested on the main money, that is if they are able to clam it at all because all the money lodged into different banks here in Europe and United States are now been claimed by the Nigerian government.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3333557.stm

Meanwhile, my plan is to withdraw just some amount from the accumulated interest, which will not even affect the main fixed deposit. I will give you the details of procedure and my full ID when I receive your reply and indication of partnership. Your reward and amount to be withdrawn will be our mutual agreement to avoid any misunderstanding. We have noting to lose, we only need courage to do this.
I will provide the necessary information needed in order to claim this money. I wish for utmost confidentiality in handling this transaction as my job and the future of my family would be jeopardized if it were breached. I want to assure you that the transaction is without risk if due process is followed accordingly.

Finally, I look forward to a favorable response from you.
Sincerely yours,
Cynthia
.
NB: I decided to contact a stranger for this deal because of the saying that your best friend could be your worst enemy.


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