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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

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

Fraud email example:

From: "FBI Washington DC" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <fedbureauinvestigation@usa.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:54:15 +0800
Subject: Contact Mr Koffi Honest Immediately

Internet Crime Unit,
Anti-Money Laundary Division,
FBI Headquarters In Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building 935 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
Greeting,
 
This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice through the FBI Internet Wiretap, and we have thoroughly completed an Investigation with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you legally won the sum of $2 Million USD from the Cash-4-U Lottery outside the United States of America. During our investigation we discovered that your e-mail won the money from an Online Balloting System and you have received series of emails in this regards, but due to the ranging scam on the internet, we believe that was why you refused to act accordinly.
 
However, we want you to undertand that we have authorized this winning to be paid to you via a Certified Cashier's Check. We have successfully notified this company on your behalf that the fund is to be drawn from a registered bank within the United States Of America so as to enable you cash the check instantly without any problem, thus, the stated amount of $2 Million USD has been deposited with the Bank Of America.
 
After due correspondence with the Lottery Company and verification, you are required to settle the following charges directly to the Lottery Agent in-charge of this transaction. According to our discoveries, the agent have contacted you on several occasions but you refused to respond. Do make sure you get in touch with him rigth away in other to complete your fund claim.  You were required to pay for the following ;
 
(1) Deposit Fee's ( Fee's paid by the company for the deposit into an American Bank which is - Bank Of America )........................$150
(2) Cashier's Check Conversion Fee ( Fee for converting the Wire Transfer payment into a Certified Cashier's Check )..................$   80
(3) Shipping Fee's ( This is the charge for shipping the Cashier's Check to your home address and this fee includes Insurance)......$150
 
 
The total amount for everything is $380.00 (Three Hunderd and Eighty US Dollars). We have tried our possible best to indicate that this $380.00 should be deducted from your winning prize, but we found out that the funds have already been deposited with Bank Of America, and cannot be accessed by anyone apart from you the holder of the Check, therefore you will be required to pay the required fee to the Agent in-charge. You are required to contact the Supervisor/Agent in-charge ( Mr. John Williams) via e-mail. Kindly look below to find appropriate contact information:
 
 
Contact Info:       Mr Honest Koffi
Email Address:    drhonestkoffi@cash4u.com
Contact Number:  +234 704 097 8408
 
Thank you very much for your anticipated co-operation in this matter.
 
Congratulations!!!
Special Agent (Mrs.) Claire Brandon
Assistant Director
Internet Crime Unit,
Anti-Money Laundary Division,
FBI Headquarters In Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building 935 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW Washington, D.C. 20535-0001

Anti-fraud resources: