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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: "richard stevenson" <richardstevenson16@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: richard_stevenson2003@voila.fr
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 11:11:15 +0000
Subject: ATTN MY GOOD FRIEND

ATTN MY GOOD FRIEND
I AM DR.RICHARD STEVENSON, A SENIOR STAFF WITH THE CENTRAL BANK OF
NIGERIA (CBN).I AM WRITING YOU THIS LETTER BECAUSE COOL PENNY IS BETTER THAN
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. IT IS BETTER FOR ONE TO LIVE AND DIE A POOR HONEST
MAN THAN A RICH DISHONEST ONE.I AND THE CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER (CSO) OF OUR
BANK HAVE ARRANGED WITH AN OFFICER IN COMPUTER SECTION ENGINEER CHUKA
ILOH TO BRING OUT PART OF YOUR TOTAL CONTRACT SUM AMOUNTING TO FIVE
MILLION US DOLLARS.

WHY WE DID THIS,IS BECAUSE ACCORDING TO INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THE
BANK’S COMPUTER, 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 CBN IN RESPECT OF YOUR CONTRACT
PAYMENT,YOUR PROBLEM IS THAT OF INTEREST GROUPS.

A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN YOUR PAYMENT AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE
MERELY DOING PAPER WORKS WITH YOU AND THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOU RECEIVE FAX
AND PHONE MESSAGES FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE EVERYDAY.ALSO WE FOUND OUT
THAT SOME OF THE OFFICIALS OF THE PARASTATALS HAVE BEEN EXTORTING A LOT OF
MONEY FROM YOU WITH THE PRETEXT OF HELPING YOU 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 THAT YOU CALL YOUR PARTNERS.AND FOR
SECURITY REASONS DO NOT TELL ANYBODY THAT YOU HAVE YOUR MONEY UNTIL YOU
RECEIVE CASH AT YOUR DOORSTEP.

THE MONEY IS IN TWO SECURITY-PROOF BOXES WEIGHING 10KG EACH, THAT IS
20KG FOR THE TWO BOXES, YESTERDAY WE WENT TO FOUR COURIER COMPANIES TO
MAKE ARRANGEMENTS ON HOW TO SHIP THEM BY COURIER TO YOU. DHL, EMS,
FEDEX, ISA ALL SAID THAT THEY MUST OPEN THE BOXES FOR INSPECTION BY THE
CUSTOMS BEFORE SHIPMENT. THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO AVOID BECAUSE THE
BOXES WERE PADDED WITH MACHINE. WE TOLD THE COURIER COMPANY THAT THE
BOXES CONTAINS PHOTOGRAPHIC AND FILM MATERIALS AND WHEN OPEN WILL LOOSE ITS
EFICACY.

WE DID NOT DECLARE MONEY BECAUSE COURIER DOES NOT CARRY MONEY.TODAY A
FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS A DIPLOMAT DISCLOSED TO ME THAT THERE IS COURIER
COMPANY THEY USE TO SEND DIPLOMATIC MATERIALS AND INFORMATION FROM ONE
COUNTRY TO ANOTHER,IT HAS DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY AND CANNOT BE INSPECTED
BY ANY CUSTOMS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.THE NAME OF THE COURIER SERVICE IS
NOBLE DIPLOMATIC SECURITY COURIER COMPANY (NDSCC).

I WILL MEET WITH THEM AS SOON AS I HAVE YOU’RE GO AHEAD ORDER.THE
DIPLOMAT WILL HELP ME SO WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEM. WE HAVE CONCLUDED
THAT YOU MUST COMPENSATE US WITH FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS
AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE YOUR MONEY. TO THIS EFFECT, YOU WILL SEND US A
PROMISSORY NOTE FOR FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLAR ALONG
WITH YOUR ADDRESS FOR SENDING THE BOXES BY COURIER.

PLEASE MAINTAIN TOPMOST SECRECY AS IT MAY CAUSE A LOT OF PROBLEMS IF
FOUND OUT THAT WE ARE USING THIS WAY TO HELP YOU,DO NOT EVER TELL
ANYBODY ABOUT THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR MONEY. I WANT TO HELP YOU BECAUSE
SOMETHING IN ME IS TELLING ME THAT YOU ARE AN HONEST PERSON.

WHEN YOU CONCLUDE WITH THIS AND YOU SEND OUR PROMISE, WE WILL HELP TO
SHIP PART OF YOUR MONEY TO YOU.
NB: PLEASE REPLY ME THROUGH MY PRIVATE E-MAIL
ADDRESS:richard_stevenson2003@voila.fr

GOD IS WITH US AS WE WAIT FOR YOUR REPLY.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,
DR.RICHARD STEVENSON

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