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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: "WRIGHT" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <wrightiainchambers@one.co.il>
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:01:09 +0100
Subject: PLEASE READ MY LETTER .AWAIT YOUR REPLY

Barrister Iain Wright
MORGAN,LEWIS LAW FIRM UK.
Condor House
5-10 St. Paul's Churchyard
London, EC4M 8AL
 
I am Barrister Iain Wright legal Associate with the Morgan Lewis Law Firm United Kingdom Business and Finance. I have contacted you for a particular piece of business that requires utmost trust and confidentiality from you.One of my client Mrs Grace Anderson has intimated me about her intentions to give her wealth to charity abroad.Mrs Grace is presently hospitalized with cancer and doctors are not confident she will make it in the next few weeks.Mrs Grace is without a child and the husband died a few years ago.The only surviving relatives she has happen to be her late husband's brothers.Mrs Grace confided in me that she does not want her relatives to inherit her wealth in case she dies.She does not deem them morally stable to handle the funds or execute her charity intentions.
The reason why i have contacted you is because Mrs Grace authorized me to contact  you.She wants you to stand as her  next-of-kin and become beneficiary of her deposited wealth so that the funds can be transferred into your account for charity use.She has instructed me to WILL 25% of her wealth to you if you will aid this proposition and help distribute the 75% to charity in your state.The funds are mature treasury bills that her late husband purchased with the NATWEST BANK LONDON over a six years period.Now the bills are mature and the bank's management has notified Mrs Grace Anderson of the matured bills.The bill is valued $8.9Million.
I have being in contact with the management of the bank over this issue and they are willing to work with me.
All legal documents to back up this transfer as my client's next-of-kin will be provided and documented.All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us see this transaction through.This will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.If this business proposition offends your moral values,do accept my apology.
Please if you are interested,furnish me with the outlined details so that i will proceed with the processing of the necessary legal documentation in your name as the next of kin before i will be able to write an application to the Financial Firm for aprovals.
 
1.Your Full Names:.......................................
2.Your Address:.....................................................
3.Your Direct telephone number:............................
4.Copy of Your valid Id.
 
Please i want you to treat this with utmost good faith and confidentiality.Mrs Grace does not want her relatives to know about this arrangement.Once the transfer is completed,i will come over to your country so that we can sit down and fashion out the best modalities to invest the funds into long term projects that will aid the needy and expand the gospel. Please reply asap.
 
Thank You.
Barrister Iain

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