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: "MR. ROBERT ZUMA MARTINS" <robertzmartins01@hotmail.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: robertzmartins@yahoo.fr
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:33:30 +0400
Subject: FROM THE DESK OF MR. ROBERT ZUMA MARTINS

FROM THE DESK OF MR. ROBERT ZUMA MARTINS,
PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
ON FINANICAL MATTERS
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

SIR,

WE ARE IN THE NEW FINANCIAL YEAR OF 2008 AND UNDER THE INSTRUCTION
OF THE PRESIDENCY/ EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, I AM INFORMING YOU THAT A FRESH
APPROVAL HAS BEEN GIVEN FOR AN IMMEDIATE PAYMENT OF US$3.5 MILLION,
I HAVE SHORTLISTED YOUR NAME,AS PART-PAYMENT IN CASH OR BANK TRANSFER
BY THE 6TH OF MARCH AND APRIL 2008 IN DUBAI UNITED ARAB EMIRATES ASIA.

I AM GOING TO ADD YOUR NAME TO GET THIS MONEY FOR INVESTMENT IN YOUR
COUNTRY FOR PARTNERDHIP. I AM GIVEN YOU 30% OF THE TOTAL SUM FOR YOUR
ASSISTANCE. DO START NOW TO MAKE IMMEDIATE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENT TO BE
IN DUBAI UAE BEFORE THE SPECIFIED DATE.
YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO COME WITH YOUR PROPER IDENTIFICATION E.G.
INT'L PASSPORT OR DRIVING LICENSE FIRST YOU HAVE GIVE ME THE FELLOWING
INFORMATIONS ABOUT YOUR GOOD SELF YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS AND YOUR
PHONE/MOBILE AND FAX LINE, IF ANY.

THIS WILL BE USED BY MY LAWYER TO DRAFT AN INVESTMENT AGREEMENT
FOR BOTH OF US TO SIGN.TO HELP RECEIVE THIS MONEY.
PLEASE FOR MR SECURITY REASON, DO NOT CALL ME ON PHONE, ONLY REPLY
BY EMAIL FOR NOW.ENABLE HIM FURNISH YOU WITH THE NECESSARY INFORMATION
YOU NEED AND THE CONTACT OF THE OFFICER IN CHARGE TO ENABLE YOU OPEN
LINE OF COMMUNICATION WITH HIM BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL DATE.

THANKS AND GOD BLESS.

MR. ROBERT ZUMA MARTINS,
PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
ON FINANICAL MATTERS


Anti-fraud resources: