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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: "Mr Michael Anan" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mich_anan@blumail.org>
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 16:35:45 -0800
Subject: YOUR URGENT ATTENTION NEEDED

Dear Friend,

My name is Mr. micheal Anan, I work in a managerial position in a well respected security company, with a head office in Accra-Ghana.

I am contacting you because of an urgent business transaction that I want to do with a trusted foreigner like you, I got your email information's through the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and industry on foreign business relations here in Accra-Ghana though I haven't disclose this deal to anybody.

On the 25th of November 2003, the sum of $41,500.000 was deposited with my company where i work , disguised as a family heirloom in a trunk box, this is not the only time that corrupt government officials uses the services of my company to ship their ill gotten wealth abroad or secure it for future use. I took exceptional note of this deposit because it was large and as the man at the helm of affairs then, I got to know the man behind the deposit, who is Late President Gnassingbe Eyadema who died on February 2005.

The reason for my contacting you is that I checked and found out that the deposit is still intact and nobody has asked for it, and I know that nobody will ever ask for it, I am the only living soul who knows the true identity of the depositor, no other person can retrieve the deposit except the person can produce the codes combination which was given to the depositor, the way we operate is that if the depositor wants to retrieve his deposit, he will instruct the company in writing and give his codes and if the manager confirms the code, the deposit will be released at once to the person, no name or identification is needed.
If you accept to work with me, I will give you the instruction letter to send to my company and also when the company asks for the codes, I will give them to you so that you can give it to them, I look forward to hear from you soon.

My best regards.
Mr Michael Williams.

Anti-fraud resources: