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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: "Dr. Benjamin Egobia" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <allandoks1@globomail.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 23:56:46 -0700
Subject: My good friend

Hello,

I have earlier sent you this message but suddenly lost contact with you hence
my decision to resend same. I am Dr. Bejamin, an Accountant and presently
the Director of Currency Operations in our Apex bank. I searched and got your contact/profile which attracts
and convinces me that you are a foreign partner I can trust to have a business relationship with.

Recently, there was an Order from my government for immediate change of faces
and denomination of our local currency notes. This is to checkmate fake
currencies injected into our economy by some group of Chinese and Lebanese
businessmen. A deadline was given to all citizens to pay in all the cash with
them into their commercial banks to enable the central bank release its
equivalents to the concerned commercial banks with the new currency notes
already in circulation. Probably due to high rate of illiteracy in my country,
many local businessmen/women did not comply with government orders/directives
until after the deadline when they brought starts bringing in the old the currency note
in their possession.

Unfortunately, the money is no longer considered as our legal tender, so it is
now wasteful and useless. But all the money now considered waste have been
brought to apex bank by commercial banks for destruction by burning in
accordance with government directives. But I have included the total wasted
value in my statement of account to the presidency to be among cash recovered
and changed to the new currency notes. The total value in cash is US$35.660
(Thirty five million Six hundred and fifty thousand US dollars only), after
changing it to US dollar Bills in the black (Parallel) market.

For obvious reasons, I cannot spend this money here or place it in any
commercial bank in my country to avoid suspicion, notice or exposure to my
authorities, so with my influence and contacts, I succeeded in moving the
money to a destination that would be disclosed to you later. It is my friend
who works with International Monetary Fund (IMF) that quickly assisted me in
moving the money out of my country to enable me have enough time to seek a
trusted foreign partner who will receive the money on my behalf for safe
keeping and investment.

As I said earlier, I am contacting you on trust to help me receive this money
over there. I want to invest it over there in any good business you may advise
on. I have agreed to give you 30% of the total money as your commission for
helping me receive the money and you are expected to advise on how/where to
invest the money.

I wait for your response on this if willing.

Thanks & Best Regards,

Dr. Benjamin.

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