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: "Martins Alan (Barr.)" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ofice.files@yahoo.es>
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2014 17:05:19 +0100
Subject: Mutual business Benefit

Sir/Ma,
 
I am contacting you for a mutual business transaction involving Ten Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars only($10,500,000.00 )hoping that you will contact me at your earliest convenient for a possible business relationship on how to actualize this mutual benefit.
 
I am Barr .Martins Alan, An attorney at law here in London ,with your sincere assistant,Trust and Co-operation, I am determined to work this transaction with you if you can finish it.my client was going through a horrendous divorce and was on the verge of losing most of his estate to his vicious and diabolical wife. As a result of this alarming predicament,He came to me with a very brilliant idea,he transferred some funds,Ten Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars only($10.5M) to a fixed deposit account in one of the bank under an alias which only the two of us knew about as the confidentiality of the matter was necessary for his protection when he was alive, Due to his untimely death in early 2013, the funds have been Lodge in the account ever since and will continue to do so perpetually unless we do something about it.
 
This is where you come in because I located you through an agency that helps seek people by their email.My client did not declare any next of kin in his official papers including the paper work of his bank deposit and all effort to trace his relative failed. Against this backdrop, my suggestion to you is that I would like you as a foreigner to stand as the next of kin to our client so that you will be able to receive his funds.65% of the total money will be for me,30% will be for you and 5% will be map aside to cover all expenses in the process of completing this transaction.
 
At the moment,I am constrained to issue more details about this business until your positive response is received.Please take a moment of your time schedules to read this proposal and contact me with the following  information:
 
Your Full Name 
Your Full Address 
Your Contact Phone/Mobile Phone Number
 
In receipt of the above information,I will summit a letter of introduction in your name as the next of kin beneficiary to this claim and start processing all paperwork in your name for this claim.I assure you that this transaction is worth taking and highly profitable.It's 100% risk free.Thank  Reply to "martins.alan010@yahoo.es " for details.  "Thanks for your time and attention to enable us actualise this mutual benefit.
 
I awaits your urgent response.
 
Yours Faithfully,
Barr. Martins Alan.

Anti-fraud resources: