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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: "Neil i. Andrew" <neiliandrew48@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 00:22:37 +0800
Subject: Urgent Pls.


Dear Friend!

I bring to you warms and cordial greetings from Northern Ireland, United
Kingdom.

It is true we do not know each other very much, but I decided to contact
you after going through your profile. My Names are Dr. Neil Irving Andrew
from Rothbury, England. I am working with a bank here in the UK as a head
of internal audit and computing department.

There is a bank account opened with my bank in 2001 and since 2005 nobody
has operated on this very account again. After going through some old
files I discovered that the owner of this account was a wealthy businessman
who died in an auto crash with his wife and only son. This man died without
a [heir] or Next of Kin hence the money is floating in his dormant account
and if the money is not remitted out of the country urgently it will be
forfeited to the government.

According to the UK banking laws, every dormant account is closed after 10
years and the entire money is returned to the government as UNCLAIMED FUND.
I don';;t want the government to claim this money for nothing, I want us to
work together to claim this money. The owner of this account was a foreign
customer, which is why I need a foreigner from another country to handle
this transaction with me.

I took the courage to look for a reliable and honest person who will be
capable for this important transaction. The balance of this account as at
today is about £4,675,000.30 (Four Million Six Hundred and Seventy Five
Thousand Pounds Thirty Shillings). I will use my position and influence in
the bank here to effect the legal approval and onward transfer of this fund
to your bank account with appropriate clearance from foreign payment
department. But you have to promise me that you will not run away with the
money after receiving this money in your bank account.

Based on mutual trust and honesty, all sharing as agreed will be carried
out accordingly once the fund is transferred into your account. I do
believe and trust that upon a successfully deal; we will use this
opportunity to establish good relationship between us.

Please note that I am going to erase all computer records relating to this
account and also destroyed every physical records once the funds is
transferred to your account.

Once the transfer is concluded and the funds confirmed, it will be shared
equally 50/50, that is 50% for me and 50% for you. If you accept my
proposal, I shall provide full details of this transaction and how it will
be successfully executed without any trace.

Kindly acknowledge receipt of this email as an indication of your
acceptance / interest.

Also provide me with your direct contact telephone number for easy
communication.

Sincerely yours

Dr. Neil Irving Andrew

+44793745410.
neilandrew001@gmail.com

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