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: "Elizabeth Goldate" <elizabeth.goldgate@live.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2012 09:54:10 +0100
Subject: Can you assist me?




































































Dearest,

My name is Elisabeth Goldgate, I am an account officer in a bank here in
the United Kingdom. I am contacting you for a business transfer, of a huge
sum of money from a deceased account. Though I know that a transaction of
this magnitude will make any one apprehensive and worried, but I am
assuring you that everything has been well taken care off, and all will be
well at the end of the day.

I am the account officer of a foreigner who died in an air crash along
with his wife on the 31st October 1999 in an Egyptian airline 990 with
other passengers on board. Upon this discovery, I now seek your permission
to have you stand as a next of kin to the deceased because you bear the
same last with him and to claim the funds he deposited in our bank worth
Eight million, Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds Sterling
(£8,500,000.00)

Therefore, it is on this note I decided to seek for whom his name shall be
used as the next of kin/beneficiary to this funds rather than allow the
bank directors to share this money amongst them at the end of the year.

Please acknowledge receipt of this message in acceptance of our mutual
business endeavor by responding to this letter. I shall be compensating
you with 40% of the total sum on conclusion of this project for your
assistance. Do not take undue advantage of the trust I have bestowed in
you by informing you of this transaction from my bank, as I will advise
you to kindly desist from responding at all if you do NOT intend to render
any assistance. Endeavor to respond via my secured email address. Thanks.

Best regards,
Elisabeth Goldgate.


Anti-fraud resources: