joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days
  jwSpamSpy

Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"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 HUANG" <mrhuang@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: mr.huang10001@yahoo.com.tw
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:04:10 +0800
Subject: BUSINESS OFFER....

Dear Recipient,
How are you today and business in your country? I am Huang,
Bank Manager of bank of Overseas,Taiwan. I would respectfully
request that you keep the contents of this mail confidential
and respect the integrity of the information you come by as a
result of this mail.

I contacted you independently of our investigation and no one
is informed of this communication.A British Oil consultant/
contractor with the Chinese Solid Minerals Corporation,Mr.Bowen
Atkinson made a numbered time (Fixed)Deposit of $30,000,000.00
for twelve calendar months and not too long Mr.Bowen Atkinson
died from an airplane crash.The bank immediately launched an
investigation into possible surviving next of kin to alert about
the situation and also to claim his estate. If you are familiar
with private banking affairs,those who patronize our services
usually prefer anonymity,but also some levels of detachment
from conventional processes.In his bio-data form, he listed no
next of kin.In the field of private banking, opening an account
with us means no one will know of its existence, accounts are
rarely held under a name;depositors use numbers and codes to
make the accounts anonymous.

This bank also gives the choice to depositors of having their mail
sent to them or held at the bank itself,ensuring that there are no
traces of the account and as I said, rarely do they nominate next of
kin.Private banking clients apart from no nominating next of kin
also usually in most cases leave wills in our care,in this case;Mr.
Bowen Atkinson died interstate.In line with our internal processes
for account holders who have passed away,we instituted our own
investigations in good faith to determine who should have right to
claim the estate. This investigation has for the past months been
unfruitful. We have scanned every continent and used our private
investigation affiliate companies to get to the root of the problem.
According to the Laws of Republic of China, at the expiration of
6(Six)years, the money will revert to the ownership of the Chinese
Government if nobody applies to claim the funds

What I wish to relate to you will smack of unethical practice but
I want you to understand something. It is only an outsider to the
banking world who finds the internal politics of the banking world
aberrational.The world of banking especially is fraught with huge
rewards for those who occupy certain offices and oversee certain
portfolios,I alone have the deposit details and they will release
the deposit to no one unless evidence of relationship with the
deceased,which I shall provide you with,is presented. I alone
know of the existence of this deposit as far as Bank of Overseas
is concerned,the bank's management has no single idea of what? the
history or nature of the deposit.

They are simply awaiting instructions to release the deposit to any
party that comes forward.I am aware of the consequences of this
proposal. If my offer is of no appeal to you, delete this message
and forget I ever contacted you. If you give me positive signals,I
will initiate this process towards a conclusion.I wish to inform
you that should you contact me via official channels;I will deny
knowing you and about this project. I repeat, I do not want you
contacting me through my official phone lines nor do I want you
contacting me through my official email account.I will always call
you and please contact me only through this email below. My official
lines are not secure lines as they are periodically monitored to
assess our level of customer care in line with our Total Quality
Management Policy.

Please observe this instruction religiously.Please, again, note I
am a family man,I have a wife and children. I send you this mail
not without a measure of fear as to what the consequences maybe,
but I know within me that nothing ventured is nothing gained and
that success and riches never come easy or on a platter of gold.
This is the one truth I have learned from my private banking clients.
Do not betray my confidence.If we can be of one accord, we should
plan a meeting, soon.In closing,please observe utmost confidentiality,
and be rest assured that this transaction would be most profitable
for both of us because I shall require your assistance to invest
my share in your country.Upon receiving your reply,I will then
furnish you with a more comprehensive detail of this transaction
and what is required of you.Please reply to my private
Email:mrhuang0000@yahoo.com.tw
Awaiting your urgent reply.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr Huang

Anti-fraud resources: