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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: "MR. GEORGE WATIONGO " <mr.georgewationgo@live.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:53:41 +0300
Subject: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!!




HELLO FRIEND,

IT IS MY PLEASURE TO CONTACT YOU AS TO DISCUSS THIS TRANSACTION WITH YOU. I
SOURCED YOUR EMAIL CONTACT FROM THE HUMAN RESOURCE PROFILE DATABASE ON YOUR
COUNTRY IN THE INTERNET. I WOULD RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT YOU KEEP THE
CONTENTS OF THIS MAIL CONFIDENTIAL AND RESPECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE
INFORMATION
YOU COME BY AS A RESULT OF THIS MAIL.
I WILL WANT TO HAVE YOUR TRUST AND TO GO INTO BUSINESS DEALINGS WITH YOUR
COMPANY WHICH MUST BE BUILT ON CONFIDENTIALITY AND TRUST AMONG US.

I AM THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN 2010 WORLD CUP PROJECT AWARD
COMMITTEE FROM THE MINISTRY OF WORKS HERE IN SOUTH AFRICA, MY OFFICE IS IN
CHARGE OF AWARDING CONTRACTS TO ALL THE CONTRACTORS BUILDING THE 14 STADIA
NEEDED FOR THIS EVENT ALL AROUND SOUTH AFRICA, THE PROJECT IS TO COST ABOUT US
$220 BILLION TO EXECUTE AND AM IN CHARGE OF RECOMMENDING PAYMENT TO ALL THE
CONTRACTOR ON THIS PROJECT.

I AM IN THE POSITION TO TRANSFER THE SUM OF $27M USD (TWENTY SEVEN MILLION US
DOLLARS ONLY) WHICH I HAVE WRITTEN A MEMO INFORMING THE GOVERNMENT THAT THIS
FUND BELONGS TO A CONTRACTOR WAITING TO BE PAID ITS CONTRACT SUM. I
WANT YOU TO
FRONT YOUR COMPANY AS THE FIRM/CONTRACTOR THAT HAS THIS FUND AND HAS COMPLETED
THE CONTRACT WITH MY OFFICE.
ALL YOU NEED DO IS TO SUPPLY ME WITH YOUR COMPANY NAME AND ADDRESS, BANKING
DETAILS WHERE THE FUND WILL BE WIRED INTO SO AS TO REGISTER YOU AS A
CONTRACTOR
WITH THE MINISTRY. WE SHALL PROCURE ALL THE DOCUMENTS FROM START TO FINISH
SHOWING THAT THE CONTRACT WAS LEGITIMATELY AWARDED AND WAS DULY COMPLETED BY
YOUR COMPANY. THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT WILL BE PROCURED FROM VARIOUS GOVERNMENT
OFFICES SO AS TO GIVE THE TRANSFER A LEGAL BACKING.

THE FUND WILL BE SHARED 50% EACH. YOU NEED NOT TO HAVE ANY MODICUM OF FEAR ON
THIS TRANSACTION AS ALL MODALITIES HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE FOR A SUCCESSFUL
TRANSFER OF THE FUNDS AND IT SHALL PASS THROUGH ALL THE LEGAL INTERNATIONAL
BANKING LAWS.
YOU ARE TO SEND ME YOUR COMPANY NAME AND ADDRESS WITH YOUR BANK DETAILS WHERE
YOU WANT THE FUND TO BE TRANSFER INTO. AS SOON AS YOU AGREE ON THIS PROPOSAL,
I SHALL SEND YOU MY PRIVATE PHONE NUMBER TO REACH ME. I WANT YOU TO KEEP THIS
VERY CONFIDENTIAL.
PLEASE OBSERVE THIS INSTRUCTION RELIGIOUSLY.
I WOULD PREFER YOU REACH ME THROUGH MY PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS BELOW;

EMAIL: mr.georgewationgo@gmail.com

NOTE THAT WITH MY POSITION HERE, THERE IS NO RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THIS AT ALL.

THANKS FOR YOUR ANTICIPATED COOPERATION. I SHALL AWAIT YOUR PROMPT REPLY.


REGARDS
MR. GEORGE WATIONGO
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WORKS
SOUTH AFRICA


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