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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: "Mr. Kingsley Charles" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <king.charlesgh@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 00:36:05 -0700
Subject: CAN I TRUST YOU TO HANDLE THIS PROJECT?

FROM THE DESK OF THE MANAGER,
BILL AND EXCHANGE DEPARTMENT
INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK
OF GHANA LIMITED.
MERIDIAN HOUSE,RING RD
P.M.B NO 16
ACCRA GHANA.


Dear Sir,

This may come to you as a surprise since we have not met before.I have made a deep and careful findings and reserach before contacting you and believe you are related to this person. Can i please seek your consent to present you to the bank as next of kin to our deceased costomer? Can i have your trust and confidence.

With your quick response,I want to transfer to overseas account
($42,000.000.00 USD) Forty two million united States Dollars) from INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK OF GHANA LTD here in Ghana, I want to ask you, If you are capable then we can do it but if you are not capable to. Please quietly look for a reliable and honest person who will be capable and fit to provide either an existing bank account or to set up a new Bank a/c immediately to receive this money, even a new dollar a/c can serve to receive this money, as long as you will remain honest to me till the end of this important business trusting in you and believing in God that you will never let me down either now or in future.

I am Mr. Kingsley Charles,The Manager Bill and Exchange Department INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK OF GHANA LTD here in Ghana, during the course of our auditing,I discovered a floating fund in an account opened in the bank in 1995 and since 2002 no body has operated on this account again,after going through some old files in the records I discovered that the owner of the account died without a (Heir/WILL) hence the money is floating and if I do not remit this money out urgently it will be forfeited to the Government tressury as an unclaimed fund just for nothing.

The owner of this account is Mr.D.S.Tord, a foreigner,and the director of petro-technical support services, a chemical engineer by profession and he died since 2002 in a car accident with his family here in Ghana. No other person knows about this account or any thing concerning it, the account has no other beneficiary and my investigation proved to me as well that until his death he was the director GOLD ARK LIMITED GHANA.

We will start the first transfer with twenty two million ($22,000.000) and upon successful transaction without any disappoint from your side, we shall
re-apply for the payment of the remaining rest amount to your account.

The total amount involve is Forty two million united States Dollars only [42,000.000.00]. I want to first transfer $22,000.000.00 (twenty two million United States Dollar) from this money into a safe foreigners account abroad before the rest. But I don't know any foreigner,that is why, I am only contacting you as a foreigner because this money can not be approved to a local person here, without valid international foreign passport, but can only be approved to any foreigner with valid international passport or drivers license and foreign a/c because the money is in US dollars and the former owner of the a/c is a foreigner.

However, we will sign a binding agreement, to bind us together when we meet face to face after the first transfer of $22 Million before transferring the second part of [$20,000.000.00] Twenty Million dollars.

I am revealing this to you with the belief in God that you will never let me down in this business, you are the first and the only person that I am contacting for this business, so please reply urgently so that I will inform you the next step to take urgently. Send also your private telephone and fax number including the full details of the account to be used for the deposit. I want us to meet face to face to build confidence and to sign a binding agreement that will bind us together immediately after the first transfer before we fly to your country for the total withdrawal, onward sharing and further investments.

I need your full co-operation to make this work-out fine because the Bank management is ready to approve this payment to any foreigner who has correct information of this account, which I will give to you upon your positive response and once I am convinced that you are capable and will meet up with instruction of a key bank official who is deeply involved with me in this business.

I need your strong assurance that you will never, never let me down. With my influence and my position in the bank, the bank official can transfer this money to any foreigner's reliable account that you can provide with assurance that this money will be intact pending our physical arrival in your country for sharing. The bank official Will destroy all documents of transaction immediately we receive this money leaving no trace of its existence. Note that this business is confidential.

I will use my position and influence to obtain all legal approvals for onward transfer of this money to your account with appropriate clearance from the relevant ministries and foreign exchange departments.

At the conclusion of this business, you will be given 40% of the total amount, 55% will be for me and my partner, while 5% will be for expenses both parties might have incurred during the process of transferring.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or e-mail, the text of application form which you will transcribe as your order and send to the bank. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is hitch free and that you should not entertain any atom of fear as all required arrangements have been successfully made before contacting you.

I will wait for your urgent reply for more clarification.

Thank you and remain bless.
Best regards,

Mr. Kingsley Charles.

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