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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: michealbello20@yahoo.com
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:36:50 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Urgent Attn


¡Tengo nueva dirección de correo!Ahora puedes escribirme a:michealbello30@yahoo.com.co



- MR.MICHEAL BELLO, ECO BANK NIG. PLC. LAGOS NIGERIA . Tel: +234 8063288531. Dear Friend, I came to know you through my search for a reliable,transparent and trustworthy person or partner to assist me execute a vital private and confidential business transaction as stated below, therefore I am very glad I have found you. I am Mr.Micheal Bello, the personal Accountant to Mr.Christian Eich, a foreigner and investor with Eco Bank of Nigeria in west Africa. Mr.Christian Eich his wife and their two Children were involved in plan crash on 31st July 2000. Mr.Christian Eich and his entire family all lost their lives. You can confirm the genuiness of the deceased death by clicking on this web site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm. Since then I have made several enquiries to locate any of Eich's extended relatives. This has also proved unsuccessful. After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to track his last name over the Internet,to locate any member of his family hence I contacted you. I have contacted you to assist in repatriating the money and property left behind by Mr.Eich before they get confiscated, frozen or declared unserviceable by the bank where these huge deposits were lodged. Particularly, Eco Bank of Nigeria Plc where the deceased had an account valued at about Ten Million Seven Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$10.7,000,000:00).I hope you understand exactly what I am saying. The management has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin or have the account frozen and I know that they will surely not rest until they finally froze his deposit.I have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over 2 years now and this is not good. I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since you have the same last name so that the proceeds of this account valued at $10.7,000,000:00 can be paid to you and then you and i can share the money. 50% to me and 50% to you. I have all the necessary legal documents that can be used to back up any claim we may make in your favour.This I must achieve to make sure that this fund is not wasted or end up in the wrong hands I hope you understand me very well. All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law, this I promise. Please indicte your interest and enclose your telephone and fax numbers both office and residence. Awaiting your urgent response. Regards, Mr. Micheal Bello.


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