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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: john smith <john.s@worker.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:28:31 +0300
Subject: Dear Friend,

--

Dear Friend,

How are you today and your family? i hope all is well, kindly pay
attention and understand my aim of communicating with you today
through this letter, my name is Mr. John Smith
Managing Director UK Commercial Bank. i have decided to seek a
confidential co-operation with you in the execution of the deal
described here-under for our mutual benefit, and hope you will keep it
a top secret if you know Mr Terry Ryan an American Banker, who came to
our country Uk to invest and met his death,or you are the relative
please indicate by writing to us, for claim of fund he left on our
Bank.because of the nature of the transaction, during the course of
our bank year auditing, i discovered an unclaimed/abandoned fund, sum
total of $3,800,000

(Three million Eight hundred thousand dollars) in an account that
belongs to one of our foreign customers who came to Uk to establish a
firm (Late Mr. Terry Ryan) from your country who unfortunately lost
his life and family in the plane crash.

Now our bank has been waiting for any of the relatives to come-up for
the claim but nobody has done that. we sincerely seek your consent to
presenting you as the next of kin / Will Beneficiary to the deceased
so that the proceeds of this account valued at $ 3,800,000 (Three
million Eight hundred thousand dollars) can be paid to you, which we
will share in these
Percentages ratio, 60% - 40% with our office
All that we require from you is your sincere co-operation; trust and
utmost confidentiality to enable us conducts this transaction
successfully. I assured you that this transaction will be executed
under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach
of the law both in your country and here in UK once the fund is
transferred to your bank
Account. Upon your consideration and acceptance of this offer, please
proceed immediately and send to us the following information.

Your Full Name,
Your Contact Address
Age and copy of your photo
or international passport copy.
Your direct Mobile telephone Number.
Fax No

This information will enable us to upload your data into our bank
database to reflect in the bank network system that you are the named
next of Kin/will beneficiary of this fund and I will guide you on how
to open communication with the bank and make the claims for onward
transfer of the fund to you, please note that we have few days to
carry out this deal, your kind speedy response through my personal
email: Will be highly appreciated.
best regards
John Smith
Tele No +4470-3193-7349
+4470-3191-0511

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