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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.Teteh Quarshie" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <customerservicecenter@neu.com.cn>
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:09:22 -0000
Subject: NOTIFICATION MESSAGE FROM HSBC AND BARCLAYS BANK.

HSBC BANK ACCRA GHANA
African Regional Head Office
International/Foreign Banking & Remittance Department.
Accra Ghana
Email:customerservicecenter@neu.com.cn
20TH JAN. 2010

Dear Beneficiary
RE: SWIFT TRANSFER OF US$ 3 MILLION INTEREST INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.

Your over -due contract/inheritance fund was brought to our bank from Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Foreign Contractor/inheritance Payment
Panel, which is made of the following countries: Ghana, Togo, Republic of Benin, Senegal, Nigeria, Ivory-coast, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Cameroon, Mali, etc.
Knowing that ECOWAS are indebted to pay your unpaid contract or inheritance fund in West African countries due to one problem or the other that were encountered
on the process of paying/transferring your fund. Your fund was recalled back then to the World Bank treasury for those periods.

For the period of time, your money was in World Bank, and it generated an interest of US$ 3 Million, which we considered your long suffering as one of the
West African Countries contractors/beneficiaries that have not received his/her payment and we have decided to pay you via Telegraphic Wire Transfer (TT) or as
you may wish for all your outstanding contract/inheritance funds together with the interest of US$ 3 million to your account.

Be advised to expedite action urgently to ensure the swift transfer of your over-due contract/inheritance fund into your bank account, because the BANK OF
GHANA (BOG) wants the accrued interest to be paid to them, but we refused because of the instruction we received from the International monitoring fund (IMF) and
United Nations Monitoring Unit.

Note that if the Bank of Ghana (BOG) officials find out that your accrued interest funds is still outstanding in our bank they will like to recall back
these fund into Federal Reserve Treasury (FRT) as an Escrow account and unclaimed funds to the Government treasury. Heed to reconfirm your identification( your
full name, country of Origin, age, marital status and occupation), then your telephone and fax number for easy communication with your milling address to
ensure immediate transfer of these funds as scheduled without any further impediments.
It is deemed necessary you facilitate swift transfer of these funds into your account, because the (BOG) auditors do come to our bank to cross-check our file
and our financial updates.

We await your response to this email address (customerservicecenter@neu.com.cn)

for more clarification.

Best Regards,
Dr. Peter Brown,
Head of International/Foreign Banking & Remittance Department.
HSBC Bank Accra Ghana.

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