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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: "Daniel Eze" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <de.2010@sify.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:31:10 -0600
Subject: Activated and ready

SPRING INTERNATIONAL BANK

Attention:

This is a personal email directed to you and I request that it be treated as such.

I wish to inform you that you have been scheduled to be paid $500,000.00 through our Automated teller machine card (ATM Card) which will only require you to proceed to any ATM Cash Point to withdraw the sum of $1,000 per day till the payment is completed.

This development is as a result of a just concluded yearly program where 5 individuals get cash benefits from SPRING INTERNATIONAL BANK. These 5 beneficiaries are selected randomly through personal websites like Facebook.com, MySpace.com, Plaxo.com, Twitter.com, Hi5.com, Flickr.com and email account holders etc. Being an international bank, we endeavor to make this opportunity available to everyone, no matter the location.

All our international shipments are handled by FedEx Nigeria through a special delivery system, and to enable this take place, you are required to pay a onetime payment of $220 shipping fee. This is a special delivery system arranged by FedEx Nigeria for sensitive documents and due to the content; it is the only delivery option available. The shipping fee is exclusively FedEx charges and not for the bank, we only help to receive these funds on their behalf and will immediately authorize them to ship your ATM card once payments are confirmed.

I am sorry we cannot deduct from your funds to pay for the Shipping charges. This is in accordance with section 13(1-2) of the new payment policy Act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3rd July 1998 by the external review committee on debt. This is to protect our clients and to avoid misappropriation of funds by officials.

Furthermore you are advised to contact me ASAP for the issuance of your ATM card and my e-mail address is de.2010@sify.com. When you contact me, kindly provide your current:

1. Full Name (As Stated in your ID)
2. Contact Address (Where your ATM card will be shipped to)
3. Valid telephone number( Cell & Home phone numbers needed)
4. Date of when you will make your FedEx delivery charges
5. Preferred pin number (4 digits numbers)

Failure to provide the information above may result to immediate disqualification.

The above information will be used to process your ATM card before it's issued out to you. Please be informed that immediately your pay your FedEx shipping charges, your ATM card will be shipped to your confirmed delivery address. A FedEx tracking number would be sent to you within the next 24 hours so that you can monitor the progress of your package and to know when to expect deliveries. Get back to me with the necessary required details if you are interested in claiming your funds.

I humbly await your response.

Daniel Eze.
ATM Issuing Department.

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