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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: Owen Clark <unitednations.uno@gmail.com>
Reply-To: solicitoratlawfirm@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2017 01:49:25 -0800
Subject: IMPORTANT REQUEST RESPECTFULLY.

--
Greetings to you,

With warm heart I offer my friendship, and greetings, and I hope this
message meets you in good time. However strange or surprising this contact
might seem to you as we have not met personally or had any dealings in the
past, I humbly ask that you take due consideration of its importance and
the immense benefit it will be to you. After careful consideration, I
resolved to contact your assistance in this manner. I duly apologize for
your most needed infringing on your privacy.

I am Owen Clark, a solicitor at law, I am the personal attorney/sole
executor to a deceased client of my chambers who shares a similar surname
with you and a nationality of your Country, his wife and their three
children were involved in a car accident and all occupants of the vehicle
unfortunately lost their lives. I do sincerely sympathized the death of my
client but think it is unprofitable for his funds to be submitted to the
government of this country or some financial institution. My aim was to
retrieve these funds and let it be claimed by the deceased family Lineage,
etc.

Since then I have made several inquiries to your Embassy to locate any of
my client's extended family and relatives, this has also proved
unsuccessful. After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace
his relatives over the internet, to locate any member of his but of no
available. On this note I decided to search for a credible person and
finding that you bear a similar last name, I was urged to contact you, that
I may, with your consent, present you to the "Trustee" as my late client's
family member so as to enable you put up a claim to the Finance House in
that capacity as a next of kin of my client.

This business proposal is confidential and I request that it be treated as
such. It is specifically directed to you and I must solicit your
Confidentiality on it. I assure you that I am contacting you in good faith
and this proposal will be of mutual benefit to us but do not take undue
advantage of the trust I have bestowed in you.

I find this possible for the fuller reasons that you are of the same
nationality and you bear a similar last name with my late client making it
a lot easier for you to put up a claim in that capacity. I have contacted
you to assist me in repatriating the money left behind by my late client
before they got confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Finance House
where these huge deposits were lodged.

Particularly, the Finance House where the deceased had a consignment valued
about Sixty Million United States Dollars only ($60,000.000.00) they have
issued me a notice to provide the next-of- kin or have the consignment
confiscated as an abandoned funds within the next 21 official working days.

What I introduced to you might be a smack of an unethical practice but this
is a once in a life time opportunity that is capable of making things
better for us and moreover, if I fail to present my late client’s next of
kin in couple of weeks, the truth is that this money will be taken by the
government or by some greedy officials of the bank and I would not fold my
arms and watch this happen hence my decision to contact you.

I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin to the deceased so
that the proceeds of this Consignment/funds valued about Sixty Million
United States Dollars only ($60,000.000.00) can be paid to you and then you
and I can share the money, 50% to me and 50% for you. I will work out all
the necessary legal documents that can be used to back up this claim, all I
require is your honest co-operation to enable us see this transaction
through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate
arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. I also want
to use this medium to assure you that this transaction is 100% risk free
and my position as the counsel to the late depositor of the fund, it has
been legally planned to avoid any hitch or breach of law. Every information
that will back you up as the next of kin to my late client shall be given
to you as soon as I have your consent.

I shall request you to reconfirm the below information to enable me make
the necessary changes in the client file here in my office afterwhich and
procure all the necessary documents that will confirm you as the
beneficiary of the funds.

Full name: ________________
Resident address: ____________
Mobile phone number: ________
Telephone number: __________
Private email: ______________
Occupation: ____________________
Marital status:_______________
Age: _______________________

Thanking you for your most unusual co-operation, a divinely sympathetic and
compassionate consideration and a thoughtful understanding.

Sincerely,

Owen Clark

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