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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: "LUCAS" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <antoniolucas69@att.net>
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:23:45 +0400
Subject: DEAR SIR/MADAM- REF:201.238.173.198

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

I AM SENDING THIS E-MAIL TO YOU BASED ON INFORMATION I GATHERED THROUGH MY PERSONAL RESEARCH.
I MUST APOLOGISE FOR USING THIS MEDIUM TO REACH YOU FOR A BUSINESS OF THIS MAGNITUDE.
I BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO HELP US IN OUR BID TO TRANSFER THE SUM OF
TWENTY-ONE MILLION,FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($21.5M USD) INTO A FOREIGN ACCOUNT.

WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE FOR BUDGET AND
PLANNING OF AN OIL COMPANY IN SPAIN (NAME WITHELD)OUR COMMITTEE IS PRINCIPALLY
CONCERNED WITH CONTRACTS APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL OF CONTRACTS IN ORDER OF
PRIORITIES AS REGARDS CAPITAL PROJECT OF THE COMPANY.

WITH OUR POSITIONS, WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY SECURED FOR OURSELVES THE SUM OF
TWENTY ONE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATED DOLLARS(US$21.5M)THIS AMOUNT WAS
ACCUMULATED THROUGH UNDECLARED WINDFALL FROM CRUDE OIL SALES.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU IS TO PROVIDE A SAFE ACCOUNT INTO WHICH THE FUNDS
WILL BE TRANSFERRED SINCE AS CIVIL SERVANTS WE ARE NOT ALLOWED BY OUR LAWS TO
RUN A FOREIGN ACCOUNT/BUSINESS ACCOUNT. IT HAS BEEN AGREED THAT THE OWNER OF THE
ACCOUNT USE FOR THIS TRANSACTION WILL BE COMPENSATED WITH US$4.3 MILLION OF THE
REMITTED FUNDS,US$16.125 MILLION WILL BE FOR I AND MY COLLEAQUE AND US$1.075 MILLION WILL BE SET
ASIDE TO OFFSET EXPENSES AND PAY THE NECESSARY TAXES.

THIS TIME AROUND WE NEED A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON OR A REPUTABLE
COMPANY TO DO BUSINESS WITH HENCE THIS LETTER TO YOU,SO IF YOU CAN PROVE
YOURSELF TO BE TRUSTED AND INTERESTED IN THIS DEALTHEN WE ARE PREPARED
TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU. WHAT WE WANT FROM YOU IS THE ASSURANCE THAT YOU
WILL LET US HAVE OUR SHARE WHEN THIS AMOUNT OF US$21.5M IS TRANSFERRED INTO
YOUR ACCOUNT.

IF THIS PROPOSAL SATISFIES YOU, PLEASE EMAIL ONLY YOUR RESPONSE SO WE
CAN ADVICE YOU ON THE PROCEDURES OF THE TRANSACTION. ALL MODALITIES OF THE
TRANSFER HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT AND ONCE STARTED WILL NOT TAKE MORE THAN
14 WORKING DAYS WITH THE ABSOLUTE SUPPORT OF ALL CONCERNED. THIS TRANSACTION IS
100% SAFE.

PLEASE TREAT AS URGENT AND VERY CONFIDENTIAL AS I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR REPLY.

YOURS FAITHFULLY
ANTONIO LUCAS

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