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: bhaipatek4@hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 05:31:23 +0200
Subject: I Await Your Response

Dear Friend,

As you read this, I don't want you to feel sorry for me, because, I
believe everyone will die someday. My name is Bhai Patek, I have been
diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer and it has defiled all forms of medical
treatment, and right now I have only about a few months to live,
according to medical experts.

Now that God has called me, I have willed and given most of my property
and assets to my immediate and extended family members as well as a few
close friends. I want God to be merciful to me and accept my soul so, I
have decided to give also to charity organizations, as I want this to be
one of the last good deeds I do on earth. So far, I have distributed
money to some charity organizations in the U.A.E, Algeria and
Malaysia.Now that my health has deteriorated so badly, I cannot do this
myself anymore.

I once asked members of my family to close one of my accounts and
distribute the money which I have there to charity organization in
Bulgaria and Pakistan, they refused and kept the money to themselves.
Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as they seem not to be content with
what I have left for them. The last of my money which no one knows of is
the huge cash deposit of Twenty Seven Million, Four Hundred and Fifty
Thousand Dollars ($27,450,000.00) that I have with a finance/Security
Company abroad. I want you to help me to collect this deposit and
dispatch it to charity organizations. I have set aside 30% for your time
and service.

Please reply me with honesty as soon as you receive this mail.

God be with you.
Bhai Patek.

NB: For confidential reasons you can contact me on my private email
address.


Anti-fraud resources: