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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "*JOSEATLAW-ES.ORG*" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <joseoteroatlaw@aim.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:04:13 +0100
Subject: Please Acknowledge My Proposal!!

Dear ,
Re: Seeking Executor of Last Will and Testament.
 
I am Mr. Jose Otero Perez an Attorney at Law, working with the Auren Abogados law firm in Barcelona, Spain.
 
Initially, I tried to contact you through normal letter posting but it returned undelivered probably due to incomplete address; hence I decided using email as the only option unexplored.
 
I am writing to notify you of the TESTAMENT of our late client, an American who unfortunately lost his life in the Madrid Plane Crash on Thursday August 21 2008 12:33 BST,.
 
The deceased was a prominent business man who traveled to Spain on Summer Holiday with his wife and their only daughter when they met their tragic death.
 
My client before his death made a deposit of Fifty Seven Million Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$57,300,000.00) in Madrid, Spain in his effort to avoid the obligatory payment of 40% income tax in the United States of America.
 
However, I was mandated by our team of professionals to search for the relatives of the deceased regarding his deposit as the holding financial institution wants him to come forward for the endorsement of the reinvestment documents.
 
Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his Next of Kin or relatives to come over to sign the reinvestment documents or claim his deposit because the financial institution cannot release these funds unless a formal application is made which is in line with the Spanish law on inheritance claim.
 
Regrettably, I learnt that his supposed Next of Kin, which could be his mother died on heart attack as a result of the death of her only son in the ugly plane crash leaving nobody with the knowledge of this huge deposit except me as the personal lawyer attached to monitor his deposit. It is in this regard that I decided to solicit your assistance, by presenting you as the Trustee & Executor to the deceased. Although, I have agreed on the following sharing ratios: 25% for your assistance and 75% for me but this is still open for negotiation.
 
NB: This transaction is very confidential and 100% risk free as I can re-draft his LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT to bear your name as the TRUSTEE & EXECUTOR. This transaction shall be executed under legitimate and legal procedures that will protect you from any breach of the Law.
 
Therefore, do not hesitate to revert back to me, through my private email:joseoteroatlaw@aim.com, with the following details if my proposal interests you: A copy of Legal Identification, reconfirmation of your address, your telephone and fax numbers.
 
Regards,
Jose Otero Perez
Abogado(Attorney At Law)
 

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