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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: Oceanic Bank International Plc <mat_attah2004@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2007 01:20:03 +0100
Subject: I Am Soliciting For Your Assistance:




COMPLIMENT OF THE DAYDEAR FRIEND I AM MATTHWE ATTAH
MANAGER IN OCEANIC BANK INTERNATIONAL PLC.THERE IS ONLINE ACCOUNT OPEN
IN THIS COMPANY IN 2003 AND SINCE THAN NOBODY HAS OPENED THIS ONLINE
ACCOUNT TILL DATE.AFTER GOING THROUGH SOME OLD FILES IN THE RECORDS,I
DISCOVER THAT IF I DO NOT REMIT THIS MONEY OUT URGENTLY IT WOULD BE
FORFEITED FOR NOTING.THE OWNER OF THIS ACCOUNT ENGR. CONNOLLY JOSEPHY,A
FOREIGNER, WHO WORK WITH JULIUS BERGER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY IN NIGERIA.
HE WAS INVOLVED IN A PLAN CRASH OF BELL VIEW AIR LINE IN OGUN STATE
NIGERIA ON OCTOBER 2005. ALL
ON BOARD THE AIRCRAFT DIED. NO OTHER PERSON KNOWS ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT OR
ANYTHING CONCERNING IT,THE ACCOUNT HAS NO OTHER BENEFICIARY AND MY
INVESTIGATION PROVED TO ME AS WELL THAT THIS COMPANY DOES NOT KNOW
ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT AND THE MONEY INVOLVED IS TEN MILLION SIX
HUNDERD THOUSAND DOLLARS [$10.6M] YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON THAT I HAVE
CONTACTED IN THIS BUSINESS, SO PLEASE REPLY URGENTLY SO THAT I WILL
INFORM YOU THE NEXT STEP TO TAKE IMMEDIATELY.SEND ALSO YOUR TELEPHONE
AND FAX NUMBERS.MEANWHILE
,I AM CONTACTING YOU BECAUSE OF THE NEED TO INVOLVE A FOREIGNER WITH A
FOREIGN ACCOUNT AS A BENEFICIARY. I NEED YOUR FULL CO-OPERATION TO MAKE
THIS WORKOUT FINE BECAUSE THE MANAGEMENT IS READY TO APPROVE THIS
PAYMENT TO ANY FOREIGNER WHO HAS CORRECT INFORMATION OF THIS ACCOUNT,
WHICH I WILL GIVE TO YOU AS SOON AS YOU INDICATE YOUR SINCERITY TO
CO-OPERATE WITH ME, AND CAPABILITY TO HANDLE SUCH AMOUNT IN STRICT
CONFIDENCE AND TRUST ,ACCORDING TO MY INSTRUCTION AND ADVICE FOR OUR
MUTUAL BENEFIT BECAUSE THIS OPPORTUNITY MAY NEVER COME AGAIN IN MY LIFE. I
NEED A TRUTHFUL AND GOD FEARING PERSON IN THIS BUSINESS BECAUSE I DON'T
WANT TO MAKE A MISTAKE SO I NEED YOUR STRONG ASSURANCE AND TRUST. WITH
MY POSITION IN THE OFFICE I DON'T WANT TO JEOPARDIES MY JOB SO I ADVICE
THAT WE SHOULD MAKE SECRECY AND CONFIDENTIALITY OUR PRIMARY WORKING
CONDITION, BEARING IN MIND THAT I AM A PUBLIC SERVANT. I WILL ALSO USE
MY OFFICE AND INFLUENCE TO EFFECT LEGAL APPROVALS AND ONWARD TRANSFER
OF THIS MONEY TO YOUR ACCOUNT WITH APPROPRIATE CLEARANCE FORMS FROM THE
MINISTRY AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE DEPARTMENT. I WILL COMPENSATE YOU
ADEQUATELY DEPENDING IN THE TERMS WE SHALL AGREE ON SUBSEQUENTLY.YOU CAN GET BACK TO ME WITH THESE EMAIL ADDRESS ABOVE OR WITH THESE matthwe_attah@yahoo.comYOUR'S SINCERELY MATTHWE ATTAHMANAGER [OCBN]

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