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: "MRS MONIQUE G. S. PINTO" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <moniquegspinto@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:27:15 +0200
Subject: GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

Hello Dear,
 
 
I am Mrs. Monique G. S. Pinto from Sao Tome and Principe, the widow to late Mr. Gustavo Sidonio Pinto then director in  Equator Oil and Exploration Limited,who died on 15 June 2006 after being shot by a trigger happy police officer named Larry Albert Paris in a village called Almas here in Sao Tome over an argument with another motorist at the time.You can confirm this on this site.
 
 
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100500.htm
 
 
I am 58 years old,I am suffering from a long time cancer of the breast which has affected my talking & hearing lately. The cancer has reached a critical stage, so my doctors have courageously advised me to indulge in Prayers as well because it is clear that I would not live past the next two to three months. I was raised in an orphanage Home, and was married to my late husband for twenty years without a child.
 
 
My husband and I are true Christians so after his death I decided not to re-marry. I sold all i inherited from my husband and left Sao Tome and Principe for United Kingdom and deposited a total sum of GB?10,500,000.00 with a Bank in the United kingdom. Presently,the money is still with the bank, and I have received a letter through my personal attorney from the management of the holding bank as the real depositor urging me to come forward to receive the money after keeping it for such a long time or rather issue a letter of approval or power of attorney to somebody to receive it on my behalf or the management will
confiscate the funds.
 
 
Frankly, I am incapacitated and indisposed as a result of my illness; I am with my laptop in a hospital where I have been undergoing treatment. I have since lost my ability to talk and my doctors have told me that I have only a few months to live.
 
 
It is my last wish to see that this money is invested in any Charitable Organization of your choice and distributed each year among the Charity organizations and Orphanages, so I want a good humanitarian to use this money to fund Churches, the needy and Widows in Sao Tome and Principe or in your Country. I must let you know that this was a very hard decision for me to take, but I had to take a bold step towards this issue, and I hope you will help see my last wishes come true.
 
 
As soon as I receive your reply I shall use the money I have at hand for my drugs and Medical expenses for the rest of my time and i will instruct my personal attorney to issue you a letter of authority which will prove that you are the new beneficiary of my funds and I shall release the other necessary and vital informations to you.
 
 
Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated herein. I hope to hear from you soonest if you are willing to handle this project
 
 
Yours in Christ,
Mrs. Monique G. S. Pinto.
 

--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

Anti-fraud resources: