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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: "Patrick Gamble" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <esqpatrickgamble@sify.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2010 04:37:12 +0200
Subject: GREETINGS FRIEND

Dear Friend,
This is a personal email directed to you and I request
that it should be treated as such.
I am Patrick Gamble, a solicitor at law.
I am the personal attorney/sole executor to the late
Mr Mark, hereinafter referred to as my client' who worked as an
independent oil magnate in my country and who died in a car crash with
his immediate family on the 5th of Nov 2000. Since the death of my
client in Nov, 2000, I have written several letters to the embassy
with intent to locate any of his extended relatives whom shall be
claimants/beneficiaries of his abandoned personal
estate and all such efforts have been to no avail.
More so, I have received official letters in the last
few weeks suggesting a likely proceeding for confiscation of his
abandoned personal assets in line with existing laws by the Bank
in which my client deposited the sum of £9.8m GBP .The board of
directors of the Bank now adopted a resolution and I was mandated to
provide his next of kin for the payment of this money within the next
15 official working days or forfeit the money as an
abandoned fund. The Bank had planned to invoke the abandoned property
Decree of 1996 to confiscate the funds after the expiration of the
period given to me but after an investigation in the Bank, I found
out that some members of the Bank want to divert this fund into
their private accounts for their own selfish interest and only want,
to use the excuse that since I am not able to look for some one
to make the claim, the money should be made unserviceable and that means
submitting the fund to the government of this country and
some to the company management which is not their main intentions.
By virtue of my closeness to the deceased and his
immediate family, I am very much aware of my client's financial standing.
I do sincerely sympathize the death of my client, but had thought it
unprofitable for his funds to be submitted to the federal government of
this country and the Bank where it is lodged. I have
reasoned very professionally and I feel it will be legally proper to
present you as the next of kin of my deceased client
which is legally possible and would be done in accordance with the laws
of the land. On this note I decided to search for a credible person
and finding that you bear a similar last name, I was urged to contact
you, that I may, with your consent, present you to the "trustee" bank
as my late client's surviving family member so as to enable you
put up a claim to the bank in that capacity as a next of kin of my
client, so that the proceeds of This Bank Account valued at Nine Million
Eight Hundred Thousand British Pounds Sterling only(£9.8million)
can be paid to you, before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable
to the bank where this huge deposit is lodged. Note that this is legal
and 100% risk free since I have all vital documents that would be
requested by them and that would confer you the legal right to make this
claim. I find this possible for the main reason that you bear a similar
last name with my client making it a lot easier for you to put up a
claim in that capacity. Therefore, to facilitate the immediate
reprofiling of this fund, you need, first to contact me via my alternative
email address signifying your interest and as soon as I obtain your
confidence, I will immediately intimate you with the complete
details as well as fax you the documents, with which you are to proceed and I
shall direct on how to put up an application to the bank.
However, you will have to assent to an express
agreement which I will forward to you in order to bind us in this
transaction. Upon the receipt of your reply, I will send you by Fax or
E-mail the next step to take. I will not fail to bring to your notice that
this proposal is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any fears
as the required arrangements have been made for the completion of
this transfer. I guarantee that this will be executed
under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any
breach of the law. Please get in touch with me through my
alternative email esqpatrickgamble@sify.com for better
confidentiality and send to me your telephone and fax numbers to enable us discuss
further about this transaction.

Like I said, I require only a solemn confidentiality
on this. Please let me have your opinion as soon as possible and if this proposal is
acceptable by you, do not take undue advantage of the trust I have bestowed in you,
I await your urgent response.
Sincerely,
Patrick Gamble(Esq)
+447624190032

This message is sent by a law firm and may contain
information that is
privileged or confidential. If you received this
transmission in error,
please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete
the message and any
attachments.

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