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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)
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:06:02 +0200
Subject: URGENT MESSAGE


alternative mail:batozuma14@gmail.com<http://us.mc398.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mail%3Abatozuma14@gmail.com>
Attn: C.E.O
I know that this mail will come to you as a surprise since we don't know
each other before. I am Mr. Batoo Zuma, the chief Auditor of Amalgamated
Bank of South Africa (ABSA).

There is an account opened in this bank in 1980 and was last operated in
2001. The available cash balance in the account is sum of (USD$ 12.5m)
Twelve Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars and since 2001
nobody has operated on the account. After going through some old files , I
discovered the owner of this account was Late Mr. ANDREAS SMITH SCHRANNER
from Munich,
Germany,
and a miner at Kruger Gold co, a Geologist by profession and he died in July
2000 in a plane crash.Below
is a
website which I will
appreciate you to read the information.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ world/europe/859479.stm
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm>
No other person knows about this account or any thing concerning it, the
account has no other beneficiary and my investigation proved to me as well
that his company does not know anything about this account.

If i don't transfer the money out of South Africa now it will be returned to
national treasury account. I have all it takes to transfer the money
to overseas
bank account. I am contacting you because of the need to involve a foreigner
with foreign account as the beneficiary. I need your full co-operation to
make this work out. At the conclusion of this business, you will be given
30% of the total amount, 70% will be for me.


Please reply urgently so that I will inform you the next step to take
immediately. Send also your private telephone number.
Please contact me on this alternative
mail:batozuma14@gmail.com<http://us.mc398.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mail%3Abatozuma14@gmail.com>
Thanks,

Mr. Batoo Zuma

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