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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: "Mr Kunde Makam" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <makam_kunde@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 10:52:23 +0100
Subject: Treat As Urgent

FROM THE DESK OF MR Kunde MAKAM.
AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING MANAGER,
COTONOU REPUBLIC of BENIN

Dear Friend

I am the Auditing and Accounting Manager in a bank here in Cotonou, Republic of Benin. In my department I discovered an abandoned sum of US 10.500 dollars in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer who died along with his entire family in July 2000 in a plane crash.

Since I got information about his death, I have been expecting his next of kin to come over and make a claim,because we cannot release it unless someone applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines and laws.
It is upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don't want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund.
The banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after 12 years, the money will be transferred into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund. The request of foreigner as next of kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a BENINESE cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner.
I agree that 40% of this money will be for you as a respect to the provision of a foreign account , 10% will be set aside for expenses incurred during the business and 50% would be for me.
Thereafter, I will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentage indicated, to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as arranged,Please kindly send this information to mail box, your,
full name,address,occupation, status and phone/mobile for easy and effective communication and location where in the money will be remitted.
I will not fail to bring to your notice this transaction is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.
You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this letter.
Trusting to hear from you immediately.

Yours Faithfully,
MR Kunde Makam
TREAT AS URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL

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