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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: "Rohlfs Karl" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <rohlfskarl@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 21:44:37 -0600
Subject: I SEEK YOUR PARTNERSHIP

Dear Friend,

I got your email address from an official directory on the web. I am Rohlfs Karl from the United States of America based in London United Kingdom, also the personal Attorney to my client who died alongside with his entire family in an accident six years ago in London



The deceased by name John Rollings [American] was a private oil consultant with the Shell Petroleum Development Company in Saudi Arabia before his death.



PROPOSITION:
I decided to contact you basically on the personal conviction of trust and confidence that we can co-operate with each other. I want you to give me the needed assistance to legally present you as the next of kin to my deceased client. My deceased client made a fund deposit of 15.7 million United States Dollars with STANDARD BANK U.K [15,700,000.00 USD] and his Bank has issued me a notice as the lawyer to the deceased to provide his next of kin or beneficiary by will and letter of administration, otherwise the account would be confiscated.



Already, I have set out modalities for achieving this goal successfully by appointing you as the next of kin, so that the bank will transfer the fund into your bank account. The sharing modality of the fund will be discussed once I have your response and acceptance to proceed. It is my intention to achieve this transfer in a legitimate way, all I require is your honesty, confidentiality and trust to enable us see this transaction through. It is also absolutely risk free. Further details await you upon a positive response from you. Click reply to get back to me



Regards
Rohlfs Karl (ESQ)


The information in this e-mail is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this e-mail by anyone else is unauthorized.

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