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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "ENGR JOHN OWEN" <engrjohno@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:13:40 +0800
Subject: URGENT BUSINESS PROPOSAL:

FROM THE DESK OF: Engr.JOHN OWEN,
DIRECTOR PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION:
DEPARTMENT OF MINERALS AND ENERGY,
1 COURT DRIVE,234 Visagie street,
0001,WGR67,LONDON,UK,
Email:engrjohno@yahoo.co.uk
+44701749891,+447010047249.






Good day,

I know this mail will come to you as a surprise, please do not be skeptical as
it’s for good intention. It’s after my official enquiry from the foreign trade
office of the chambers of commerce & industry here in UNITED KINGDOM, that I
decided to contact you but I did not disclose the intention to anyone else
because of the delicate nature of the project. I found your profile very
interesting and decided to reach you directly to solicit for your assistance
and guidelines in making a business investment and transfer of

US$4,000,000.00 (FOUR Million Dollars) to your country within the next few days

Please I must plead for your confidence in this transaction. I am a high
placed official working with Department of (Minerals and Energy) in London. I
and two other colleagues are currently in need of a silent foreign partner
whose identity we can use to transfer this sum of money.

But at this moment, I am constrained to issue more details about this
profitable business investment until I get your response by email, please if
you can take out a moment of your very busy schedule today to respond back to
my private email below for more details and include your private telephone
number in your response which I and my colleagues will highly appreciate.

This fund accrued legitimately to us as commission from foreign contracts,
through our private connections.

The fund is presently waiting to be remitted from the bank here in United
Kingdom to any overseas beneficiary confirmed by us as associate/receiver. By
virtue of our positions as civil servants in my country, we cannot acquire
this money in our names.

Because as high placed civil servants, we are not allowed by the civil service
code of conduct to own or operate bank accounts outside of our shores. On the
other hand, it is not safe for us to keep the money here due to unstable
political environment. I have been mandated as a matter of trust by my
colleagues, to look for an overseas silent partner who could work with us to
facilitate transfer of this fund for our mutual benefit, Hence the reason for
this email.

My proposal is that after you receive the funds, it would be shared as
follows: 40% to you as commission for your co-operation and assistance in
facilitating the transfer, 10% has been map out for any taxation fee that
might occur during the course of this transfer while the remaining 50%
belongs to me and two colleagues. You will be free to take out your commission
immediately after the money hits your account in your country. Since our
objective is to invest the money in a foreign country, it would be appreciated
if you could also help us with advices and direction on investing into
profitable ventures in your country.

However, this is optional, and if it is not convenient for you to further to
assist us with investing the money, we can end our cooperation after you make
available to me our part of the money. The transaction, although discreet, is
legitimate and the money will be transferred successfully with all necessary
back-up official documents showing the legitimate source/origin of fund.

The transfer will be affected within a period not longer than two weeks as
soon as we reach an agreement and you furnish me with a suitable response
indicating your interest for processing the transfer. I plead with you on one
issue, whether you are interested or not, kindly do not expose this
information to any one else. I confirm that the transaction is legitimate and
without any risks either to yourself or us.

Regards,

ENGR JOHN OWEN,
Email:engrjohno@yahoo.co.uk



DEPARTMENT OF MINERALS & ENERGY,
UNITED KINGDOM:

Anti-fraud resources: