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: TOM ADAMS <tom.adams13@btinternet.com>
Reply-To: tom.adams_91@yahoo.com
Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:20:54 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: Your response


Dear Sir/Ma,
 
I am Mr.Tom Adams,English citizen and Principal assurance manager
in one of reputable banks in United Kingdom. Mr. Mohammed Raji a staff of Saudi
Kayan Petrochemical Company got in touch with me on an investment which was
placed under our banks management some years ago.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 contact you independently of our investigation and no one is informed of
this communication. I would like to intimate you with certain facts that I
believe would be of interest to you. In 2005, the subject matter; Mr. Mohammed
Raji came to our bank to engage in business discussions with our private
banking division. He informed us that he had a financial portfolio of $25,500,
000, 00 (Twenty five million Five hundred thousand United States dollars),
which he wished to have us turn over (invest) on his behalf. I was the officer
assigned to his case; I made numerous suggestions in line with my duties as the
de-facto chief operations officer, especially given the volume of funds he
wished to put into our bank. We met on numerous occasions prior to any
investments being placed.He later asks the business to be close that he wants
to move the funds to another country for investment.
 
The funds was moved to a  private finance company who were specialist bank
that accepts deposits from high net worth individuals and blue chip
corporations that handle valuable products or undertake transactions that need
immediate access to cash. Mr. Mohammed Raji told me he wanted the money there
as soon as he got into the country. This was the last communication we had;
this transpired last 2005, we later got a call from the finance Company
informing us about the inactivity of that particular portfolio.
This was an astounding position as far as I was concerned, given the fact
that I managed the International private banking sector I was the only one who
knew about the deposit, and I could not understand why Mr. Mohammed Raji had
not come forward to claim his deposit.
 
The disappearance of Mr. Mohammed Raji which was later confirmed that he was
killed in of one of the bomb attack in Iraq.  This bank has spent great amounts
of money trying to track this man's family; they have investigated for months
and have found no family. The investigation has come to an end.
My proposal is I want to introduce you to the bank as the next of kin in a
position to instruct the Finance company to release the deposit to you as the
closest surviving relation. Upon receipt of the deposit, I am prepared to share
the money with you. That is: I will simply nominate you as the next of kin and
have them release the deposit to you.45% of the total fund will be given to you
for your position as the next of kin. 5% for expenses, 10% for the less
privileged and I will keep the 40% for my retirement.
 
I would have gone ahead to ask the funds be released to me but that would
have drawn a straight line in my involvement in claiming the deposit. I assure
you that I could have the deposit released to you within a few days. I will
simply inform the bank of the final closing of the file relating to Mr.
Mohammed Raji. I will then officially communicate with the Finance company and
instruct them to release the deposit to you which they will gladly do.

I am aware of the consequences of this proposal. So I ask that if you find no
interest in this project that you should discard this mail. I ask that you do
not be vindictive and destructive. If my offer is of no appeal to you, delete
this message and forget I ever contacted you. Do not destroy my career because
you do not approve of my proposal. You may not know this but people like me who
have made tidy sums out of comparable situations run the whole private banking
sector. I am not a criminal and what I do, I do not find against good
conscience, this may be hard for you to understand, but the dynamics of my
industry dictates that I make this move. Such opportunities only come ones way
once in a lifetime.
 
I cannot let this chance pass me by, for once I find myself in total control
of my destiny. These chances won't pass me by. I ask that you do not destroy my
chance, if you will not work with me let me know and let me move on with my
life but do not destroy me.
 
I am a family man and this is an opportunity to provide them with new
opportunities. There is a reward for this project and it is a task well worth
undertaking. I have evaluated the risks and the only risk I have here is from
you refusing to work with me and alerting my bank. I am the only one who knows
of this situation, good fortune has blessed you with a name that has planted
you into the center of relevance in my life. Let's share the blessing.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.
 
Contact me only through the numbers I will provide for you and also through
this email address. I do not want any direct link between you and me. 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 wife and children. I send you this mail not without a
measure of fear as to what the consequences, 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. I will send you a copy of my identity card after I have your
full concert.
 
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,
I await your response on my private contact: (tom.adams_91@yahoo.com)

Best Regards
Tom Adams


Anti-fraud resources: