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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: Andrew Ward Esq <dwood6091@gmail.com>
Reply-To: officialmail@mail.lv
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2023 09:11:15 -0700
Subject: CONFIDENTIAL LETTER FROM ANDREW WARD ESQ

--
Hello Greetings

Please accept my apologies for sending you a surprise letter. I'm,
Andrew Ward, an attorney at Oceanic Solicitors UK London. I have a
very important matter I want to discuss with you. A client of mine,
who am privy to his financial records died intestate (not having made
a will) as a result of heart-related condition in
September 2022.
I am contacting you because you bear the same surname as my deceased
client and I felt you can assist me in securing his fund as his next
of kin, before the bank declares it insolvent/liquidated. The fund
total is US$29.5 million.
The bank where the fund is lodged in deposit has issued me a notice to
contact the next of kin and also present a letter of
administration,confirming that you are the next of kin and beneficiary
of the fund domiciled with their bank.

I want to introduce you to his bank for this business as the
legitimate next of kin. All I require is your honest cooperation and I
assure you that this will be performed under a legitimate agreement
that will protect us from any breach of law. I agree that 40% of this
money will go to you as my foreign partner, 40% to me and 20% to the
financier, because there is an outstanding debt of $183,200.00
Dollars, which I have discussed with a financier who is willing to pay
the total fee through you as my (foreign partner). If you are
genuinely interested in my proposal, please let me know by providing
me with the information below.

Your full name:
Business name:
Contact address:
Your Scan ID
Your official occupation:
Your mobile number:


The financier will remit the outstanding fee to you once I receive
your willingness to help me execute the funds transaction
successfully.
You don't have to pay any money from your pocket.

Have a nice day while I await your feedback.

Best regards,
Andrew Ward Esq

Anti-fraud resources: