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: NIGERIA NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATIONS <mrluke.wilson05@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <mrlukewilson2007@walla.com>
Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2007 08:45:07 -0400
Subject: NEXT OF KIN NEEDED URGENTLY



DEAR SIR/MADAM
COMPLIMENT OF THE DAY BEFORE I START, I MUST FIRST APOLOGIZE FOR THIS UNSOLICITED MAIL TO YOU.
IAM AWARE THAT THIS IS CERTAINLY AN UNCONVENTIONAL APPROACH TO STARTING A RELATIONSHIP,BUT AS TIME GOES ON YOU WILL REALIZE THE NEED FOR MY ACTION.
MY NAME IS MR LUKE WILSON , A SOLICITOR AND THE PERSONAL ATTORNEY TO MR.JOHN RYERSON,A NATIONAL OF YOUR COUNTRY,WHO WORKED WITH AN OIL COMPANY IN NIGERIA,HERE-IN-AFTER REFERRED TO AS MY CLIENT.
ON THE 21ST OF APRIL 2001, MY CLIENT, HIS WIFE AND THEIR THREE CHILDREN WERE INVOLVED IN A GHASTLY MOTOR ACCIDENT ALONG SAGAMU EXPRESS ROAD.
MY CLIENT AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY UNFORTUNATELY LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE ACCIDENT.
SINCE THEN I HAVE MADE SEVERAL ENQUIRIES TO YOUR EMBASSY TO LOCATE ANY OF MY CLIENT'S EXTENDED RELATIVES, WHICH HAS PROVED ABORTIVE AFTER THESE SEVERAL UNSUCESSFUL ATTEMPTS. MY MAIN REASON FOR CONTACTING YOU IS TO ASSIST ME IN REPATRIATING THE MONEY AND PROPERTY LEFT BEHIND BY MY CLIENT BEFORE THEY ARE CONFISCATED OR DECLARED UNSERVICEABLE BY THE BANK WHERE THEY ARE DEPOSITED/LODGED. PARTICULARLY, THE UNION BANK PLC.
WHERE THE DECEASED HAS A FIXED SUM OF $20,000.000.00 THE SAID BANK HAS ISSUED ME A FINAL NOTICE TO PROVIDE THE NEXT OF KIN OF MY CLIENT OR THEY WILL BE LEFT WITH NO OTHER CHOICE THAN TO CONFISCATE HIS FUNDS, A COPY OF THE SAID NOTICE I WILL FAX TO ON GETTING YOUR REPLY.
SINCE I HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOCATING MY CLIENT'S RELATIVES FOR THE PAST 6 YEARS NOW I SEEK YOUR CONSENT TO PRESENT YOU AS THE NEXT OF KIN OF MY CLIENT SO THAT THE SAID FUNDS AS STATED ABOVE I.E, THE SUM OF TWENTY MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS CAN BE PAID TO YOU INSTEAD OF LEAVING FOR UNION BANK PLC.
WE CAN TAKE PART OF IT AND LEAVE THE REST TO CHARITY. I HAVE ALL NECESSARY LEGAL DOCUMENTS THAT CAN BE USED TO BACK UP ANY CLAIM WE MAY MAKE ALL I REQUIRE IS YOUR HONEST COOPERATION TO ENABLE US SEE THIS ARRANGEMENT THROUGH.
I GUARANTEE THAT THIS WILL BE EXECUTED UNDER A LEGITIMATE ARRANGEMENT THAT WILL PROTECT YOU FROM ANY BREACH OF THE LAW. PLEASE REPLY ME VIA THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS{mrlukewilson2007@walla.com},FINALLY KINDLY GIVE ME YOUR CONFIDENTAIL PHONE/FAX NUMBERS SO THAT I CAN FAX TO YOU ALL THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE BANK AND ME.
BEST REGARDS, BARRISTER LUKE WILSON
_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail to go? Get your Hotmail, news, sports and much more! Check out the New MSN Mobile!
http://mobile.msn.com

Anti-fraud resources: