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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: kristink@molzon.com
Reply-To: reverend.a30@yahoo.com
Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2016 16:05:22 +0100
Subject: Re: REMINDER, MY FRIEND THIS IS ONLY WAY OF YOUR PAYMENT

DEAR FRIEND,

I AM REVEREND ANDREW LUTZ, A SENIOR STAFF WITH THE CENTRAL BANK OF
NIGERIA (CBN).I AM WRITING YOU THIS LETTER BECAUSE COOL PENNY IS BETTER
THAN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. IT IS BETTER FOR ONE TO LIVE AND DIE A POOR
HONEST MAN THAN A RICH DISHONEST ONE. I AND THE CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER
(CSO) OF OUR BANK HAVE ARRANGED WITH AN OFFICER IN COMPUTER SECTION
ENGINEER CHUKA ILOH TO BRING OUT PART OF YOUR TOTAL CONTRACT SUM
AMOUNTING TO US$12 MILLION. WHY WE DID THIS IS BECAUSE ACCORDING TO
INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THE BANK' S COMPUTER,YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR
A LONG TIME TO RECEIVE YOUR MONEY WITHOUT SUCCESS.AS I FOUND OUT THAT
YOU HAVE ALMOST MEET ALL THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS OF THE CBN IN
RESPECT OF YOUR CONTRACT PAYMENT, YOUR PROBLEM IS THAT OF INTEREST
GROUPS.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN YOUR PAYMENT AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE
MERELY DOING PAPER WORKS WITH YOU AND THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOU RECEIVE FAX
, PHONE AND EMAIL MESSAGES FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN NIGERIA EVERYDAY.
ALSO WE FOUND OUT THAT SOME OF THE OFFICIALS OF THE PASTORALS HAVE
BENEFACTOR A LOT OF MONEY FROM YOU WITH THE PRETEXT OF HELPING YOU
RECEIVE TO YOUR MONEY. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THIS MAY LAST FOR YEARS YET
NOTHING HAPPENS IF YOU DO NOT DO AWAY WITH THOSE OFFICERS THAT YOU CALL
YOUR PARTNERS.
AND FOR SECURITY REASONS DO NOT TELL ANYBODY THAT YOU HAVE YOUR MONEY
UNTIL YOU RECEIVE CASH AT YOUR DOORSTEP.THE MONEY IS IN TWO
SECURITY-PROOF BOXES WEIGHING 110 KG EACH, THAT IS 22O KG FOR THE TWO
BOXES, YESTERDAY WE WENT TO FOUR COURIER COMPANIES TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS
ON HOW TO SHIP THEM BY COURIER TO YOU. THE COURIER WE VISITED ARE: DHL,
EMS, FEDEX AND TNT COURIER AND THEY ALL SAID THAT THEY MUST OPEN THE
BOXES FOR INSPECTION BY THE CUSTOMS BEFORE SHIPMENT. THIS IS SOMETHING
WE WANT TO AVOID BECAUSE THE BOXES WERE PADDED WITH MACHINE. WE TOLD THE
COURIER COMPANY THAT THE BOXES CONTAINS PHOTOGRAPHIC AND FILM MATERIALS
AND WHEN OPEN WILL LOOSE ITS EFFICACY. WE DID NOT DECLARE MONEY BECAUSE
COURIER DO NOT CARRY MONEY.
TODAY A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS A DIPLOMAT DISCLOSED TO ME THAT THERE IS
COURIER COMPANY THEY USE TO SEND DIPLOMATIC MATERIALS AND INFORMATION
FROM ONE COUNTRY TO ANOTHER. THAT HAS DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY AND CANNOT BE
INSPECTED BY ANY CUSTOMS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. THE NAME OF THE COURIER
SERVICE IS ANAMBRA SECURITY COURIER SERVICE (ASCS). I WILL MEET THEM AS
SOON AS HAVE YOUR GO AHEAD ORDER. THE DIPLOMAT WILL HELP ME TO SECURE
ALL THE REQUIRED IMMUNITY DOCUMENTS SO WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEM.NOTE
THAT WE HAVE CONCLUDED THAT YOU MUST COMPENSATE US WITH SIX HUNDRED
THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS (US$600.000) AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE YOUR
MONEY.
TO THIS EFFECT, YOU WILL SEND US A PROMISSORY NOTE OF COMPENSATING US TO
THE TUNE OF SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLAR (US$600.000) ALONG
WITH YOUR ADDRESS FOR SENDING THE BOXES BY COURIER.PLEASE MAINTAIN TOP
MOST SECRECY AS IT MAY CAUSE A LOT OF PROBLEMS IF FOUND OUT THAT WE ARE
USING THIS WAY TO HELP YOU.DO NOT EVER TELL ANYBODY ABOUT THIS UNTIL YOU
HAVE YOUR MONEY. I WANT TO HELP YOU BECAUSE SOMETHING IN ME IS TELLING
ME THAT YOU ARE AN HONEST PERSON.WHEN WE CONCLUDED THIS AND YOU SEND OUR
PROMISE, WE WILL HELP TO SHIP THE FINAL PART OF YOUR MONEY TO YOU.FOR
SECURITY REASON PLEASE REPLY IMMEDIATELY.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,
REVEREND ANDREW LUTZ
DIRECTOR CENTRAL BANK FACT-FINDING & SPECIAL DUTIES OFFICE

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