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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: "johnson williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrjohnsonwilliams10@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2017 18:50:03 +0200
Subject: from barrister johnson williams

JOHNSONWILLIAMS & Company Solicitors.
Second Floor Barlow House
Minshull St Manchester
M1 3DZ.United Kingdom
Tel: +44-7452015708
Email: mrjohnsonwilliams10@gmail.com
Dear mr /mrs
This is a personal letter directed to you and I request that it be treated as such. I am
Barrister Johnson Williams, attorney/sole executor to the late Mr. ali aswad ,
hereinafter referred to as my client who worked as an independent oil magnate in my
country and later died in a car crash with his immediate family on the 4th of Oct, 2014
Since the death of my client in Oct, 2014, I have tried to locate any of his extended
relatives whom shall be claimants/beneficiaries of his abandoned personal estate and all
such efforts have been to no avail.
More so, I have received official letters in the last few weeks suggesting a likely
proceeding for confiscation of his abandoned personal assets in line with existing laws
by the bank in which my client deposited the sum of 35 million British Pounds Sterling.
On this note I decided to search for a credible person and I decided to contact you, that I
may, with your consent, present you to the "trustee" bank as my late client's surviving
family member so as to enable you put up a claim to the bank in that capacity as a next
of kin to my client. I find this possible for the fuller reasons that you bear a similar last
name with my client making it a lot easier for you to put up a claim in that capacity.
I propose that we share the fund 50% for me and 50% for you at the conclusion of this
deal. Therefore, to facilitate the immediate reprofiling of this fund, you need, first to
contact me via this email signifying your interest and as soon as I obtain your
confidence, I will immediately appraise you with the complete details as well as fax you
the documents, with which you are to proceed and I shall direct you on how to put up an
application to the bank.
HOWEVER, you will have to accent to an express agreement which I will forward to you
in order to bind us in this transaction. Upon the receipt of your reply, I will send you by
fax or E-mail the next step to take. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this proposal
is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any fears as the required arrangements
have been made for the completion of this transfer.
Like I said, I require only a solemn confidentiality on this.
call me as soon as you get this e mail for more information
Best Regards,
Johnson Williams.
Principal Attorney.
Johnson Williams & Company Solicitors

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