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: "REV. FR. NATHAN BENSON" <revfrnathanbenson@web.de> (may be fake)
Reply-To: revnathanbenson@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 14:46:09 +0200
Subject: THE SOLUTION HAS COME AT LONG LAST


Personal Memo DEAR BENEFICIARY, HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY? HOPE THIS MESSAGE MEETS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WELL. I AM REV. FR. NATHAN BENSON, A SENIOR STAFF WITH THE WORLD BANK AUDIT GROUP IN UNITED KINGDOM (WBAG). I AM WRITING YOU THIS LETTER BECAUSE COOL PENNY IS BETTER THAN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. IT IS BETTER FOR ONE TO LIVE AND DIE POOR HONEST MAN THAN A RICH DISHONEST ONE. THE CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER (CSO) OF THE WORLD BANK ZONAL OFFICE, HERE IN UK,AND I HAVE ARRANGED WITH AN OFFICER IN THE COMPUTER SECTION {ENGINEER ROODNEY DIAMA} TO BRING OUT PART OF YOUR TOTAL CONTRACT SUM AMOUNTING TO US$10 MILLION. WHY WE DID THIS IS BECAUSE ACCORDING TO INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THE DEBT OWNED TO THE FOREIGN CONTRACTORS BY THE WEST AFRICAN GOVERNMENT(S), THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A LONG TIME TO RECEIVE YOUR MONEY WITHOUT SUCCESS. AS I FOUND OUT THAT YOU HAVE ALMOST MET ALL THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS OF THE PAYING COUNTRY, IN RESPECT OF YOUR CONTRACT PAYMENT. YOUR PROBLEM IS
THAT OF INTEREST GROUP. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN YOUR PAYMENT AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE MERELY DOING PAPER WORKS WITH YOU. ALSO WE FOUND OUT THAT SOME OF THE OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN EXTORTING MONEY FROM YOU WITH THE PRETEXT OF HELPING YOU TO RECEIVE YOUR MONEY. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THIS MAY LAST FOR YEARS, YET NOTHING HAPPENS IF YOU DO NOT DO AWAY WITH THOSE OFFICERS YOU ARE DEALING WITH AND FOR SECURITY REASONS. YOUR MONEY IS IN ONE SECURITY-PROOF BOX WEIGHING 110KG. RECENTLY, A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS A DIPLOMAT DISCLOSED TO ME THAT THERE IS A COURIER SERVICE COMPANY THEY USE TO SEND DIPLOMATIC MATERIALS,INFORMATION AND OTHER VALUABLES FROM ONE COUNTRY TO ANOTHER. IT HAS DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY AND CANNOT BE CHECKED BY ANY CUSTOMS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. YESTERDAY, WE MET WITH THE SECURITY COURIER COMPANY, FINALIZED AND CONCLUDED ARRANGEMENTS ON HOW TO MOVE THE MONEY BY COURIER TO YOU. WE TOLD THE COURIER SERVICE COMPANY THAT THE BOX CONTAINED FILM MATERIALS,AND WHEN OPENED,THE MA
TERIALS WILL SPOIL. WE DID NOT DECLARE MONEY BECAUSE COURIER DOES NOT CARRY MONEY. THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO AVOID BECAUSE THE BOX WAS PADDED WITH SYNTHETIC NYLON AND TO OPEN IT, YOU HAVE TO CUT THE PAD BEFORE YOU WILL MEET THE BUTTONS THAT YOU WILL PRESS TO OPEN THE DIAL CODE-LOCK. THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN OPEN THE BOX AND BE ABLE TO CLOSE IT AGAIN BECAUSE IT WAS PADDED WITH MACHINE. I WILL MEET THEM AS SOON AS I HAVE YOUR GO AHEAD ORDER. THE DIPLOMAT WILL HELP ME SO WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEM. WE HAVE CONCLUDED THAT YOU MUST COMPENSATE US BY DONATING THE SUM OF FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLAR (US$500,000.00) TO CHARITY (LESS PRIVILEGES) , AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE YOUR MONEY. TO THIS EFFECT, YOU WILL SEND TO ME A PROMISSORY NOTE FOR FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLAR (US$500,000.00). HOWEVER, YOU ARE GOING TO FOOT THE COST OF BRINGING THE BOX WHICH TO YOUR NORMINATED DESTINATION. PLEASE MAINTAIN TOPMOST SECRECY AS IT MAY CAUSE A LOT OF PROBLE
MS IF FOUND OUT THAT WE ARE USING THIS WAY TO HELP YOU.DO NOT EVER TELL ANYBODY ABOUT THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR MONEY IN YOUR POSSESSION. I WANT TO HELP YOU BECAUSE MY INSTINCT IS TELLING ME THAT YOU ARE AN HONEST PERSON AND YOU HAVE SUFFERED A LOT IN THE PROCESS OF REALIZING YOUR MONEY.WHEN YOU CONCLUDE THIS AND SEND OUR PROMISORY NOTE, WE WILL HELP TO MOVE THE FINAL PART OF YOUR MONEY TO YOU. GOD BE WITH US AS WE WAIT FOR YOUR REPLY. PLEASE, DO KEEP THIS HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL UNTIL YOU RECEIVE YOUR MONEY WHICH WILL BE COMING TO YOU AS FAMILY VALUABLES AND TREASURES. TO MAKE IT EASY FOR US, PLEASE DO FURNISH US WITH YOUR FULL CONTACT ADDRESS,PERSONAL TELEPHONE NUMBER,FAX NUMBER AND YOUR PRIVATE E.MAIL ADDRESS. YOURS FAITHFULLY, REV. FR. NATHAN BENSON DIRECTOR, SPECIAL DUTIES Please reply to: revnathanbenson@yahoo.co.uk </ym/Compose?To=revnathanbenson@yahoo.co.uk&YY=16163&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b>

Anti-fraud resources: