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: Steve Banny <stevebanny@osimik.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2013 06:50:05 -0400
Subject: Hello!


----
From: Mr.Steven Banny.
Add: Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.


Hello,

My name is Mr.Steven Banny the principal treasury officer with one of the
prime banks in Cote d’Ivoire. I have decided to contact you through this
medium based on a business proposal, which will be of mutual benefit to both
of us. I discovered your email through comprehensive web email search on
directory so I decided to contact you. I know this might sound like scam to
you because of a lot of activities going on in the internet today. But I
assure you that this is real.


I am the personal accounts manager to one of our late client, a national of
your country, who used to work with an oil servicing company here in Cote
d’Ivoire, the late client made a numbered time (fixed) deposited for
twelve calendar months, valued at €16,500,000.00 (Sixteen Million Five
Hundred Thousand European Euro) in my branch. Upon maturity, we sent a
routine notification to his forwarding address but got no reply.


After a month, we sent a reminder and finally we discovered from his
contract employers, PETRO-CI Corporation that my client died from an
automobile accident. On further investigation, I found out that he did not
leave a will and all attempts to trace his next of kin were fruitless. I
therefore made further investigation and discovered that the deceased person
did not declare any next of kin in all his official documents, including his
bank deposit paperwork.


This sum of (€16,500,000.00) is still sitting in the bank and the interest
is rolled over with the principal sum at the end of each year. No one will
come forward to claim it. According to the law of Cote d’Ivoire, at the
expiration of 5{five} years, the money will l revert to the ownership of the
Cote d’Ivoire government if nobody claims the funds.


Consequently, my proposal is that I will like you as a foreigner to stand in
as the next of kin to deceased person for the fact that you have same last
name with him so that this money will not be reverted by the government. If
this request matches with your inward intention for success and greatness,
then you are urged to make a quick response indicating your interest and
readiness to participate and work with me to make this successful.


Please observe utmost confidentiality, and be rest assured that this
transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require
your assistance to invest my share in your country. In your return mail,
please do forward your information as listed below if you are willing to
complete this deal with me, to enable me put the total fund in your name for
claim as the next of kin to the deceased person: (bannysteven@yahoo.co.jp)


(1) Full names:.......
(2) Private phone number.....
(3) Current residential address.....
(4) Occupation with company nam.....
(5) Age and Sex:........



I wait for your urgent reply.


Regards,
Mr.Steven Banny



Anti-fraud resources: