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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: "Barrister Francis Morra. (ESQ)" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <francismorra12@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:36:50 -0800
Subject: WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU

Sir/Madam,
 
 
I am Barr. Francis Morra a Financial Attorney to Charlie Huffman that worked with a corporate body here in London. Mr. Charlie Huffman had a deposit of 18.5 Million GBP with a financial institution here in London. However, on the 12th April 2008, My client, his wife and two of his children were involved in a auto crash along Liverpool Rd. All occupants of the vehicle died. The financial institution after end of 2009 yearly auditing issued me a notice to provide any relatives of my client otherwise the account will be closed and the fund confiscated. I have made several enquiries through your high commission to locate my client's extended relatives, but was unsuccessful, I then decided to trace his relatives or family member over the internet which has also proved abortive, before I now decided to contact you to assist me in Claiming my late client's fund before it got confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Finance institution where the fund is lodged. Please get
 
 
YOUR FULL NAME
YOUR ADDRESS
YOUR TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBERS
YOUR OCCUPATION AND POSITION
YOUR AGE
YOUR MARITAL STATUS
 
 
As soon as I receive your response, I will furnish you with all required details on how to contact the paying bank for onward transfer arrangement to your designated bank account.
Be informed that I have all necessary legal documents that can be used to back up your claim. I assure you that this deal will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.
 
 
Looking forward to your prompt response.
 
 
Yours Sincerely,
 
 
Barrister Francis Morra. (ESQ)
Financial Attorney / Legal Consultant.
Equity Law Firm (ELF).
Tel:+44 70 240 63740
Fax: +44 84 477 42856
DX: 407 London Chancery Lane
Address: 15 Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1BW-UK.

Anti-fraud resources: