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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: "Mrs Treasure Collins" <mrstreasure505@googlemail.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2008 15:27:15 +0100
Subject: IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF YOUR INHERITANCE FUND VIA ATM SWIFT CARD.


*OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY
CHIEF UMARU MUSA YAR'DUA (GCFR)
ASO- ROCK, GARKI ABUJA
NIGERIA.
Our ref: FILE CODE #: ATM/LAG/NG
08/ 04/ 2008*


*ATTENTION BENEFICIARY:*

*IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF YOUR INHERITANCE FUND VIA ATM SWIFT CARD.*

*In close consultation with the World Bank, IMF and the European Union (EU),
this is to notify you of your enlistment as a beneficiary of a recent Debt
Management and Settlement Forum organized on the status of global
arrangement to have your beneficiary fund settled once and for all.Of
course, In the hope that you must have been aware of the past financial
leakages in the European foreign inheritance payment system, and
frustrations associated there from in your last attempt to claim yourfund,
fund of beneficiaries (like your self) was subjected to unnecessary
bureaucratic bottlenecks in lieu of claiming funds due to them. *
**
*The World Body, having solicited and received the cooperation of Nigerian
Presidency, in harmonizing the sequence of payments, have discovered from
records of outstanding foreign inheritance fund of beneficiaries due them,
that your name and payment has been with held and remain unpaid as a result
of such bottleneck. On the prompting of this finding, I wish to officially
notify you that all aspects of your payment claim is being harmonized,
enabling payment to be released to you as urgently as you act on the
instructions of this mail.
*
*Consequently, Afribank Nigeria Plc has been directed by the World Body to
off set these outstanding debts, using ATM Swift Card payment arrangement.
Already, a total amount of USD500 Million has been provided to the bank for
this purpose and it is on first come first serve. With this arrangement, I
wish to inform you that Afribank Nigeria Plc has been instructed to issue in
your name an Atm Cash Card with the valued amount of USD6.3M. In paying this
amount to you, please note that it is without Prejudice to your original
inheritance sum. Rather, it is a stop-gap payment arrangement put in place
by the World Body to on the one hand ensure that you receive part of your
fund, while on the other hand ensure that the process is smooth and without
any form of stress whatsoever, whereas a comprehensive arrangement shall be
made in future to pay off the remaining fund due to you.

However, we are worried with the counter information received from one Mr.
Casey Collins , purporting to be from your directive, with express
instruction to activate the ATM Cash Card for release of fund to his name a
bank account in the "Cayman Islands" Obviously, we are hesitant to honor
this instruction as it were, and would request that you clarify same upon
your contact with Afribank Nigeria Plc . In addition to that, you should
provide the bank with the following details to forestall any mistake of
issuing the ATM Card with the wrong information already submitted by Mr.
Casey Collins:

(1) Your full names, address, phone, fax and Cell numbers (up to date) for
ease of contact
*
*(2) Beneficiary name for activation of your ATM CARD.
*
*Believing that this arrangement will suit your condition and expectations,
we will therefore request for your expedited response to avoid any more
delay. Your response should be directed to Afribank Nigeria Plc, Dr Dom
Ibekwe; Director, Atm Payment Dept through his official email address:
*<zackmlk@yahoo.com>
*afribank_atm.paymentcentre@infohq.com*<http://us.f458.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To¯ribank_atm.paymentcentre@infohq.com>
*Telephone: +234-70330-90350.*
*
Your file reference code for your payment is ATM/LAG/NG and should be
quoted in your contact mail to the bank otherwise the bank will not
recognize or process your ATM Swift Payment. Once again you are to use the
above email address in your contact mail to the bank.
*
*Mrs Treasure Collins,*
*Secretary to the Presidency.*
*Federal Republic of Nigeria.*
<zackmlk@yahoo.com>

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