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: "SGT BRIGHT GALVAN" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <gsgtbright@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 1 May 2010 11:03:35 +0100
Subject: Re:HELLO..HELLO (SGT BRIGHT GALVAN) UPDATE

HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?. HOPE ALL IS WELL.

MY NAME IS SGT BRIGHT GALVAN( SGT 1ST CLASS )I AM AN AMERICAN SOLDIER,
SERVING IN THE MILITARY WITH THE ARMY�S 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION. WITH A
VERY DESPERATE NEED FOR ASSISTANCE, I HAVE SUMMED UP COURAGE TO CONTACT YOU.I
FOUND YOUR CONTACT PARTICULARS IN AN ADDRESS JOURNAL. I AM SEEKING YOUR KIND
ASSISTANCE TO MOVE THE SUM OF ( $8 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS ) EIGHT MILLION UNITED
STATES DOLLARS TO YOU IN UNITED STATES, AS FAR AS I CAN BE ASSURED THAT MY
SHARE WILL BE SAFE IN YOUR CARE UNTIL I COMPLETE MY SERVICE HERE.

SOURCE OF MONEY:

SOME MONEY IN VARIOUS CURRENCIES WAS DISCOVERED IN BARRELS AT A
FARM HOUSE NEAR ONE OF SADDAM �S OLD PALACES IN TIKRIT-IRAQ DURING A
RESCUE OPERATION, AND IT WAS AGREED BY STAFF SGT KENNETH BUFF AND I THAT SOME
PART OF THIS MONEY BE SHARED AMONG BOTH OF US BEFORE INFORMING ANYBODY ABOUT IT
SINCE BOTH OF US SAW THE MONEY FIRST. THIS WAS QUITE AN ILLEGAL THING TO DO,
BUT I TELL YOU WHAT ? NO COMPENSATION CAN MAKE UP FOR THE RISK WE HAVE TAKEN
WITH OUR LIVES IN THIS HELL HOLE. OF WHICH MY BROTHER IN-LAW WAS KILLED BY A
ROAD SIDE BOMB LAST TIME.

THE ABOVE FIGURE WAS GIVEN TO ME AS MY SHARE, AND TO CONCEAL THIS KIND
OF MONEY BECAME A PROBLEM FOR ME, SO WITH THE HELP OF A BRITISH CONTACT WORKING
HERE, AND HIS OFFICE ENJOY SOME IMMUNITY, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE PACKAGE OUT TO
A SAFE LOCATION ENTIRELY OUT OF TROUBLE SPOT. HE DOES NOT KNOW THE REAL
CONTENTS OF THE PACKAGE, AND BELIEVES THAT IT BELONGS TO A BRITISH /AMERICAN
MEDICAL DOCTOR WHO DIED IN AN RAID HERE IN IRAQ, AND BEFORE GIVING UP, TRUSTED
ME TO HAND OVER THE PACKAGE TO HIS FAMILY IN UNITED STATES. I HAVE NOW FOUND A
VERY SECURED WAY OF GETTING THE PACKAGE OUT OF IRAQ TO Your Country FOR YOU TO
PICK UP, AND I WILL DISCUSS THIS WITH YOU WHEN I AM SURE THAT YOU ARE WILLING
TO ASSIST ME, AND I BELIEVE THAT MY MONEY WILL BE WELL SECURED IN YOUR HAND
BECAUSE YOU HAVE FEAR OF GOD.I WANT YOU TO TELL ME HOW MUCH YOU WILL TAKE FROM
THIS MONEY FOR THE
ASSISTANCE YOU WILL GIVE TO ME. ONE PASSIONATE APPEAL I WILL MAKE TO
YOU IS NOT TO DISCUSS THIS MATTER WITH ANYBODY, SHOULD YOU HAVE REASONS TO
REJECT THIS OFFER, PLEASE PLEASE AND PLEASE DESTROY THIS MESSAGE AS ANY LEAKAGE
OF THIS INFORMATION WILL BE TOO BAD FOR US SOLDIER �S HERE IN IRAQ. I DO
NOT KNOW HOW LONG WE WILL REMAIN HERE, AND I HAVE BEEN SHOT,WOUNDED AND
SURVIVED TWO SUICIDE BOMB ATTACKS BY THE SPECIAL GRACE OF GOD,BUT GOT HURT NOW
HOSPITALIZED IN LONDON HOSPITAL THIS AND
OTHER REASONS I WILL MENTION LATER HAS PROMPTED ME TO REACH OUT FOR
HELP, I HONESTLY WANT THIS MATTER TO BE RESOLVED IMMEDIATELY, PLEASE CONTACT ME
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WITH MY E-MAIL ADDRESS WHICH IS MY ONLY WAY OF
COMMUNICATION GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

INFO THE DIPLOMAT WILL BE NEEDING TO GET THE PACKAGE TO YOU.

FULL NAME:...................................
YOUR NEAREST AIRPORT:.........................
TELEPHONE:....................................
HOME ADDRESS:.................................

FOR YOUR MORE INFOMATION THIS SAID AMOUNT IS MY WHOLE LIFE RETIREMENT INVESTMENT
FUND AND I NEED A CAPABLE HANDS THAT CAN KEEP THIS FUND SAFE TILL CONCLUSION OF
MY SERVICE HERE IN IRAQ, IF YOU IN ANY WAY KNOW YOU CAN NOT HANDLE THIS
TRANSACTION PLEASE DO NOT GET INVOLVED DUE TO YOU WISH TO EARN INCOME AND
THIS ISSUE WARRANT CONFIDENTIALITY DUE TO THE MY POSITION IN THE ARMY SERVING.

SGT BRIGHT GALVAN.

Anti-fraud resources: