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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: "Ecowas Commission" <ecowas-desk@ecowas.int>
Reply-To: nfss.fgn.004@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 10:51:45 -0000
Subject: Re: Notification of Payment Transfer..

Inheritance Claims Payment Commission
"Foreign Operations Department"
ECOWAS Liaison Building, 6 King George
V Road, Onikan, P.O.Box 12745, Lagos

Re: Notification of Inheritance Payment Transfer.

I am Dr Shehu Abdullah, former executive director of Inter-Governmental
Action Group against Money Laundering, Internet Scams and other Financial
related crimes in West Africa. We are in a Joint Operation Services with
the Central Banks of Signatory States, regional Securities and Exchange
Commissions, UEMOA, Banque Ouest Africaine pour le Développement (BOAD),
the French Zone Anti-Money Laundering Liaison Committee, the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the FATF, Interpol and the European
Union e.t.c. to bring prompt eradication of on-going internet scam and
Bank frauds in the West African region with the assistance of United
States Government.

I know you may find it difficult to believed this letter based on the ill
miscreant experience you may have encountered in the past years, coupled
with incessant dissemination of fraudulent e-mail messages by some
internet fraudsters. I was the Director General of the Inter-Governmental
Action Group against money laundering in West Africa between May 2006 –
February 2014, It was based on my accountability, capability and
transparency during my tenure that I was mandated to look into financial
transaction records of Banks, Securities companies and Financial houses in
Nigeria based on the bilateral agreement reached with the Secretary
General of the United Nation And World Bank.

During my routine investigation and verification exercise, I discovered
lots of un-paid debts from various Banks and Securities companies, worth
over ($800 Million dollars) Eight Hundred Million dollars floating with
some Banks here, and on my further verification I observed that you were
to be paid for an inheritance contract payment, which some avaricious and
greedy directors working in our Bank and Government offices used their
privileged position to demand un-necessary fees from you for their
selfish enrichment.

I want to reveal to you that the main reason you never received your
approved payment all these while was from your Partner and the Lawyer who
represented you here. To cut the story short, I discovered from my
findings that your Partner in collaboration with some greedy Bank
officials intentionally frustrated you to abandon your payment half-way to
enable them achieve their dubious aim trying to divert your inheritance
payment fund to another bank account for their selfish interest.

Note: I decided to contact you because your e-mail was indicated as the
beneficiary of this abandon inheritance contract payment fund. I even
wanted to declare this payment to our Federal Government as unclaimed
floating fund, But I later kept my findings seclude to my self until I
hear from you. You can reach me on my mobile phone# +2348165028802 or
reply my email. Thence thereafter we shall deliberate on how to transfer
this payment into any Bank account you nominate.

Cordial,

Dr. Shehu Abdullah



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