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: "Shanghai Commercial Bank" <real8@w6rr4ux4x.homepage.t-online.de>
Reply-To: <anateo2001@yahoo.com.cn>
Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:33:12 +0100
Subject: Did You Get My Mail?

Attn

Shanghai Commercial Bank holds millions of pounds in unclaimed property
and missing money. Last year alone, we collected £44.8 million, of which
less than £1 million was refunded.

Shanghai Commercial Bank unclaimed property statutes consider assets
abandoned when contact with owners is lost - typically due to an
unreported address change or the expiration of a postal forwarding order,
name change after marriage or divorce, and incomplete or illegible
records.

When owners or heirs fail to claim the money over a specified number of
years known as the dormancy period, holders - including banks, brokers,
employers and life insurance companies - transfer the funds to a
government trust account in a legal process known as escheat.

Here this money awaits your claim, along with millions of unclaimed pounds
held by Shanghai Commercial Bank - including £13 million in unredeemed
savings bonds, and hundreds of billions of pounds in unclaimed benefit
checks and unclaimed entitlements.

Note in addition to those that have neglected to claim assets to which
they are directly entitled, millions of family members are unaware they're
entitled to collect unclaimed money owed deceased relatives who passed on
without leaving an updated will.

It is important that you make a proactive effort to claim this money, as
most holders of unclaimed funds make virtually no effort to locate lost
owners and heirs. Claims are generally honored in perpetuity, but there
are time limits on some types of assets, so prompt action is advised.

I have furthered my desire by acquiring the LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION.
This legal document has now given me the power to administer the funds. It
is now believed by the financial institutions involved, that the funds
next of kin will be coming for claims in a short while. Do not be bothered
that you are not related in any way to the unclaimed funds as I am in
position to fix your name as the next of kin.

Hopefully the whole Procedures will last only 14 working days to place you
as the next of kin. Your remuneration as the anticipated next of kin and
investment manager to the funds shall include an investment sharing ratio
of 80/20. Twenty percent of gains shall be retained by you while the
balance 80% shall be for my colleagues and I.

Please indicate your interest by contacting the aforementioned banks appointed legal representative on this issue (Ana Teodoro) anateo2001@yahoo.com.cn for further enquiry on the aforementioned unclaimed
inheritance.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Martina Harrison

Anti-fraud resources: