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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: Themba Mthembu <xilavekon@mtimandze.org>
Reply-To: Themba Mthembu <tmthembub@diplomats.com>
Date: 01 Jan 2023 18:32:35 +0200
Subject: Re: Project Implementation

Good day ,

I am contacting you after making official enquiries at the
foreign trade office of the Chambers of Commerce here in
Johannesburg, South Africa. I haven't disclosed the nature of my
intention to anyone due to the sensitive and confidential nature
of the project involved which is my need for assistance in
profiling some investment funds and transfer of said funds to
your country.

I must plead for your confidence and confidentiality and if it so
happens that you are unable to assist in this project I would
crave your indulgence and ask that you do not divulge this to any
other third party and ignore this email. I am constrained to
issue more details about this mutually beneficial financial
project until I get your positive response by email.

The fund in question $40,000,000.00 (Forty Million USD) accrued
from an over-inflated contract executed by foreign contractors
through our connections and the over invoiced amount is waiting
to be remitted from a commercial bank here in South Africa. By
virtue of my position as a senior civil servant I cannot acquire
this money in my name due to the fact that I am bound by the
Civil Service Code of Ethics which bars me from operating bank
accounts outside of our shores. On the other hand it is not safe
to keep the funds here due to security reasons; hence my need to
source for an overseas silent partner to facilitate the transfer
of these funds for our mutual benefit.

My proposal is that after you receive the funds, it would be
shared as follows: 30% to you as commission for your cooperation
and assistance in facilitating the transfer, while the remaining
65% belongs to me. You will be free to take out your commission
immediately after the money is credited to your account in your
country. Since our objective is to invest the money in a foreign
country, it would be appreciated if you could also help us with
advice and direction on investing into profitable ventures in
your country.

What we need to do is give you an approval from the ministry and
you will email the approval to the paying bank to facilitate the
processing and transfer of the contract funds into any of your
nominated bank accounts. If you are interested and capable, I
request you forward your personal details to my private email
address tmthembub@diplomats.com , to enable me to contact you for
further discussion. I would also request that you send me your
most confidential phone number for further communication too.

Respectfully,

Mr. Themba Mthembu
Email: tmthembub@diplomats.com | tmthembub@gmail.com
https://www.kzndard.gov.za/
Director, Project Implementation and Audit Committee

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