joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days
  jwSpamSpy

Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"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: "Fuhua He" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <fuhuahe22@live.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 04:53:30 +0100
Subject: Sehr wichtig E-Mail........

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you with a great sense of urgency having found your name by coincidence and noted your posts to be particularly honest in nature. I am Fuhua He, Business Relations Manager for HSBC Bank in Scotland. I am contacting you concerning the estate of a deceased client with a similar last name and an investment placed under our banks management. I would respectfully request that you keep the contents of this mail to yourself and respect the importance of the information you come by as a result of this mail. I am contacting you independently and no one knows of this notice.

In 2000, the late Mr. Abelard came to our bank to engage in business discussions with our private banking division. He told us he had a financial portfolio of 4.5 million British pounds, which he wants us to invest on his behalf. Based on my advice on business ideas, we spun the money around various business opportunities and made attractive margins for our first months of operation, the accrued profit and interest stood at this time of over 1 million British pounds. In mid 2002, he instructed that the principal (4.5 m) be liquidated because he needed to make an urgent investment requiring cash payments in London. We came in contact with a specialist bank in London, Natwest Bank who agreed to receive this money for a fee and make cash available to Abelard. But Natwest Bank came into contact with us last year that this money has not been claimed. Upon closer investigation we found out that Abelard was involved in an accident in Mainland Europe, which means he died intestate i.e. he died without leaving a will

What I suggest is that since I have exclusive access to his file, you will be made as the recipient of these funds. Natwest Bank will contact you to inform you that the money has been bequeathed to you. On verification, which will be the details I make available to Natwest Bank, natwest Bank will be instructed to make payments to you after all the necessary checks and the application is completed. You do not need not have known Abelard personally. I know this may be a bit heavy for you, but you trust me on this, all we go very smooth. For all your problems, I propose that we split the money in half. In the banking circle this happens every time. The second possibility is that the money will be declared as unclaimed and transferred to a special trust account which top officials here in United Kingdom will share resources among themselves.

No one is getting hurt, this is an excellent opportunity for us. I hold the key to a successful transfer of these funds to your nominated bank account, and as a British national, we see so much money and funds awarded once daily. I want us to keep communication for now strictly by e-mail.

Please, again, note I am well respected locally and a dedicated family man with a beautiful wife and children. I send you this mail not without a measure of fear of the consequences, but I know within me that nothing ventured is nothing gained and that success and riches never come easy or on a platter of gold. This is one truth I have learned from my private banking clients. Do not betray my trust. If we can be of one accord, we must act quickly on this. Please come back to me immediately with your telephone number if you are interested, I can provide you with further details.

I await your response.

Fuhua He

Anti-fraud resources: