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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: "ATTAH SEIDU BUKARI" <attameh12006@speedmail.se>
Reply-To: attamehab6@walla.com
Date: 28 Jan 2007 15:11:03 -0000
Subject: ASSISTANCE/INVESTMENT


Dear Friend,


Please do not be surprised on receiving this email. My name is Attah Seidu Bukari, I am from bron ahafo in Ghana here. Though we might not have a personal relationship or have met each other, we could work together on this project I am about to introduce to you.

I would be very glad if you can be my foreign guarantor to help me claim us$5m deposited by my late father with a security company. This funds is sealed airtight in a silver aluminium boxes. My father's didn't registered the contents of the boxes as funds, he registered it as a family treasury bill for many security reasons. I am the next of kin to my late father vault account. I contacted the security company for the claim of my late father's deposited boxes but due to my underage {30 years old}, the security company are demanding for a guarantor that will claim the boxes for me to avoid a controversy. My father registered to be 35 years old above before having access or right to withdraw the boxes.

I need from you is to send me your full name, contact address, personal telephone number with attach copy of your international passport or drivers license so that I can put in an application letter with this your information and foraward to the security company as my foreign guarantor. I will change the new ownership certificate to your name so we can have a power of attorney to athourize the security company to let me withdraw one of the box valued us$3m on your behalf to a reputable bank here and transfer it to your foreign account. If I have access to the box, I will open account here in your name and deposit the funds into it before onward transfer to your final account in your country. We will obtain all the necessary certificates/documents. The documents will prove to your bank or country the source of the funds is genuine.

The transaction is 100% safe and risk-free. If we transfered the first box valued us$3m, you will now believed and have 100% trust and hope in me for us to transfer the second box through same channel. You can also come forward so we the transact the business together, seen is believing. I will offer you 20% for your assistance render while you will assist me invest part of my own 80% on any profitable business venture there in your country

I will be waiting to hear from you soon so I can tell you what next to do. I will also send you a deposit certificate for your verification.

Please reply me through this personal e-mail address for many security reason.

Best Regards,

Attah Seidu Bukari.


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