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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: Ethan Madison <ethanmadison19@gmail.com>
Reply-To: info.icccoffice@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 07:58:31 -0700
Subject: Your Overdue Contract Payment is Ready for Shipment



--
RESERVE BANK BUILDING,
370 CHURCH STREET,PRETORIA.
0001 PRETORIA
SOUTH AFRICA

OUR REF: SARB-UK/SARB/111345/SA

FROM ETHAN MADISON

ATTN MY GOOD FRIEND I AM MR ETHAN MADISON A SENIOR STAFF WITH THE
RESERVE
BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA, I AM WRITING YOU THIS LETTER BECAUSE COOL PENNY IS
BETTER THAN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

IT IS BETTER FOR ONE TO LIVE AND DIE A POOR HONEST MAN THAN A RICH
DISHONEST ONE.I AND THE CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER (CSO) OF OUR BANK HAVE
ARRANGED WITH AN OFFICER IN THE COMPUTER SECTION OF THIS BANK, ENGINEER
CHARLES ODINGA TO BRING OUT PART OF YOUR TOTAL CONTRACT SUM AMOUNTING TO
FIVE MILLION US DOLLARS.

WHY WE DID THIS, IS BECAUSE ACCORDING TO INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THE
BANKS COMPUTER, YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A LONG TIME TO RECEIVE YOUR
MONEY
WITHOUT SUCCESS. AS I FOUND OUT THAT YOU HAVE ALMOST MET ALL THE
STATUTORY
REQUIREMENTS OF THE RESERVE BANK IN RESPECT OF YOUR CONTRACT PAYMENT,
YOUR
PROBLEM IS THAT OF INTEREST GROUPS.

A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN YOUR PAYMENT AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE
MERELY
DOING PAPER WORK WITH YOU AND THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOU RECEIVE FAX AND
PHONE
MESSAGES FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE EVERYDAY.ALSO WE FOUND OUT THAT SOME OF
THE
OFFICIALS OF VARIOUS PARASTATALS HAVE BEEN EXTORTING A LOT OF MONEY FROM
YOU IN THE PRETEXT OF HELPING YOU RECEIVE YOUR MONEY, I CAN ASSURE YOU
THAT
THIS MAY LAST FOR YEARS YET NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU DO NOT DO AWAY
WITH
THOSE OFFICERS THAT YOU CALL YOUR PARTNERS.

I AM WILLING TO HELP YOU GET YOUR MONEY BUT PLEASE FOR SECURITY REASONS
DO
NOT TELL ANYBODY THAT YOU HAVE YOUR MONEY UNTIL YOU RECEIVE CASH AT YOUR
DOORSTEP.THE MONEY IS IN TWO SECURITY-PROOF BOXES WEIGHING 10KG EACH,
THAT
IS 20KG FOR THE TWO BOXES, YESTERDAY WE WENT TO FOUR COURIER SERVICE TO
MAKE ARRANGEMENTS ON HOW TO SHIP THEM BY COURIER SERVICE TO YOU. DHL,
EMS ,
FEDEX AND ISA, ALL SAID THAT THEY MUST OPEN THE BOXES FOR INSPECTION BY
THE
CUSTOMS BEFORE SHIPMENT.

THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO AVOID BECAUSE THE BOXES WERE PADDED WITH
MACHINE. WE TOLD THE COURIER SERVICE THAT THE BOXES CONTAINS
PHOTOGRAPHIC
AND FILM MATERIALS AND WHEN OPENED WILL LOOSE ITS EFFICACY. WE DID NOT
DECLARE MONEY BECAUSE COURIER SERVICE DOES NOT CARRY MONEY.

TODAY A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS A CHRISTIAN LIKE ME DISCLOSED TO ME THAT
THERE IS A COURIER SERVICE THEY USE TO SEND PACKAGES AND INFORMATION
FROM
ONE COUNTRY TO ANOTHER, AND THE COURIER SERVICE CAN DELIVER THE PACKAGE
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD AND CANNOT BE INSPECTED BY ANY CUSTOMS ANYWHERE IN
THE WORLD.THE NAME OF THE MOSILI COURIER SERVICE (MCS).

I WILL MEET WITH THEM AS SOON AS I HAVE YOUR GO AHEAD ORDER.THE COURIER
SERVICE WILL HELP ME SO WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEM.WE HAVE CONCLUDED
THAT
YOU MUST COMPENSATE US WITH FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS
AS
SOON AS YOU RECEIVE YOUR MONEY. TO THIS EFFECT, YOU WILL SEND US A
PROMISSORY NOTE FOR FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS ALONG
WITH
YOUR ADDRESS FOR SENDING THE BOXES BY COURIER.

PLEASE MAINTAIN TOPMOST SECRECY AS IT MAY CAUSE A LOT OF PROBLEMS IF
FOUND
OUT THAT WE ARE USING THIS WAY TO HELP YOU, DO NOT EVER TELL ANYBODY
ABOUT
THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR MONEY.

I WANT TO HELP YOU BECAUSE OF THE PERCENTAGE YOU WILL GIVE ME FOR
ASSISTING
YOU.WHEN YOU CONCLUDE WITH THIS AND YOU SEND OUR PROMISE; WE WILL HELP
TO
SHIP PART OF YOUR MONEY TO YOU.

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO RE-CONFIRM THE UNDERLISTED DETAILS AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE
FOR ONWARD SHIPPMENT OF YOUR OVER DUE CONTRACT FUND:

YOUR FULL NAME:
PRIVATE TELEPHONE NUMBER:
CHOICE OF ADDRESS {where you wish the consignment delivered}:
PRESENT OCCUPATION:
AGE:

GOD IS WITH US AS WE WAIT FOR YOUR REPLY.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,

MR.ETHAN MADISON

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