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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. Harold Stevens" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mr.harold.stevens@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:08:15 -0600
Subject: Dear friend

Banque Du Caire
Head Office Branch
Dana Bldg, Floor 1, Hamdan St,
Abu Dhabi
UAE.

Dear friend,

My name is Mr. Harold Stevens Deputy Managing Director of Banque Du Caire
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

I have contacted you to humbly request your co-operation for the transfer
and safekeeping of large amount of money $8,500.000.00 (Eight Million Five
Hundred Thousand United States Dollars). This money was originally
deposited by an oil-field service contractor Mr. Anderson who unfortunately
lost his life on the ill-fated Air France-Air Bus A330 Airplane that
plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in the summer of June 2008. Until his
unfortunate death, I was his personal account officer at the bank.

I have extensively tried to reach any member of his family without any
luck. It is almost four years since his death and no one has come forward
to claim his deposit at the bank as beneficiary.

Subsequently, I have now placed this money into a new private ESCROW
account at the bank leaving it without a beneficiary.

I request your assistance to work with me so as to come forward to legally
claim this money as its new beneficiary, and have it transferred into your
bank account in your country.

However, it is very important for me to be very certain that you can be
trusted to honestly keep this money until my arrival in your country for
disbursement.

For you co-operation, I intend to part 40% of the total $3,500.000.00 to
you 60% for me.

I shall appreciate your positive response, and will advice you on the way
forward.

Yours' Sincerely,

Mr. Harold Stevens

Deputy Managing Director
Banque Du Caire
Abu Dhabi
UAE.

Anti-fraud resources: