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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: Mumy Hellen <hellenmumy@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: h_desmond10@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007 08:19:32 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Ms. Hellen Desmond Momoh




VERY CONFIDENTIAL MATTER.




DEAREST.

HOW ARE YOU TODAY? HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING THE BEST OF
GOOD HEALTH? IT IS MY GREAT PLEASURE AND HAPPINESS
WRITING YOU THIS LETTER ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND MY
FAMILY.

I GOT YOUR ESTEEMED CONTACT FROM THE COMMERCIAL
SECTION OF YOUR EMBASSY AFTER CAREFUL STUDY OF YOUR
COUNTRY'S ECONOMY AND BANKING POLICIES ,HOWEVER, MY
MAIN PURPOSE WAS NOT DISCLOSED BECAUSE THIS
TRANSACTION REQUIRED A HIGH LEVEL OF STRICT
CONFIDENTIALITY ,MAXIMUM DISCRETION,TRUST AND ABOVE
ALL HONESTY.

THIS IS A BIG BUSINESS AND I AM BEING
CAREFUL TO ESTABLISH A SECURE PROCESS WITH A PROPER
PERSON OF GOD FEARING MAN.I KNOW HOW THIS MAKES YOU
FEEL.TO START WITH,I AM MS. Hellen Desmond Momoh,THE
DAUGHTER OF THE LATE FINANCE MINISTER OF SIERRA LEONE,
WHO DIED ON THE MONTH OF FEBUARY 2005 AFTER A BRIEF INNESS.

THE MAIN PURPOSE OF WRITING THIS LETTER IS TO INFORM
YOU THAT BEFORE THE DEATH OF OUR FATHER,HE DEPOSITED
THE SUM OF MONEY VALVED EIGHT MILLION U.S.
DOLLARS(US$8 MILLION).IN A FINANCIAL INSTITUTE HERE IN
ACCRA GHANA IN EUROPE FOR THE SAVE KEEPING BEFORE HE COULD
MOVE IT TO ANY COUNTRY OF HIS CHOICE.AS A MATTER OF
URGENCY,I WOULD APPRECIATE IF YOU CAN SPEEDILY HELP US
SECURE THIS FUNDS ON OUR BEHALF AS WE DO NOT WANT THE
NEW PRESENT GOVERNMENT IN SIERRA LEONE TO TRACE THIS FUNDS
IN OUR FAMILY NAME AND GOT TO KNOW ABOUT THIS DEPOSITED
FUNDS.

THIS BECOMES NECESSARY AS THE NEW GOVERNMENT IS
NOW LIAISING WITH OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO KNOW
WHERE MY LATE FATHER KEPT SOME FUNDS OUTSIDE THE
COUNTRY.ONCE YOU INDICATE YOUR INTEREST TO SECURE THE
FUNDS ON OUR BEHALF ,WE WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE
NECESSARY DOCUMENTS THAT YOU WILL NEED TO CLEAR THE FUNDS
ON OUR BEHALF ,IN THIS CASE WE NEED YOUR FULL ADDRESS AND
TELEPHONE NUMBER TO DISCUS WITH YOU.WE AGREED IN
TOTALITY THAT IF YOU HELP YOU US TO PROSECUTE THIS
VENTURES WITH YOUR SHARE OF THE TOTAL SUM WILL BE 30%,WHILE 2%
WILL BE FOR BOTH EXPENSES.

HOWEVER,IF AFTER READING THIS LETTER, YOU ARE NOT
INTEREST,PLEASE PRETEND AS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT.

I WAIT YOUR RESPONSES SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,

MS. HELLEN DESMOND MOMOH


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