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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs.Cecil Taylor" <t.cecil@rediffmail.com> (may be fake)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:26:20 +0400
Subject: Tahadi Games

Greetings to you.

Please do not be surprised to receive this mail from someone relatively
unknown to you. I want you to know that this is not a joke or spam generated
message. My name is Mrs. Cecil C. Taylor from Liberia the wife of Ex
president of Republic of Liberia, an American-Liberian by birth. I urgently
need your assistance.

My husband stepped down as the President of Liberia in 2003, but matters were
not helped when the UN special war crimes court of Sierra Leone indicted. My
husband for war crimes in June. Me and my two sons immediately in July 2003
relocated to Sao Tome and Principe ( a small oil rich island off the coasts
of West Africa). Where they are currently in hiding here under new
identities, awaiting the outcome of events in the Hague.

The reason is this During the political crisis some years ago in Sierra Leone
a West African Country Rich in Diamonds, my husband was actively involved in
2001-2002 and now facing the consequences in the court at present my husband
and his vice Mr. Moses Blah, entrusted some money netting a total of (Twenty
seven Million US Dollars Only).

This money he moved into a Security and Finance Home for protective custody
under a different name during the time he is transferring some of this cash
to a foreign account as you can read from this site:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7379536.stm . And now he has asked me
to look for a trust worthy foreigner whom I can trust to use him or her for
the claim.

Now, we are not allowed to travel out easily again because of the current
political situation and court sitting in the Hague. This is why I need you to
please either travel for the claim of the money. And subsequently deposit
same in a reputable bank there for onward transfer to your account. Once you
are able to show your sincerity, I will write to the finance firm on your
behalf so that you can open up communication with my lawyer.

I am willing to for fit 30% of the funds to you believing you will hold 70%
on trust for me, until we are able to leave here to join you under new
identities. I will advise that every correspondence should be email ONLY for
security reasons as my calls are been monitored. If you cannot help us,
simply destroy this and forget I ever contacted you.

May God guide you in whatever you decide and thank you for taking out time to
read this request. I wait for your response in order to proceed with
instructions on how to go about this.

Best regards,
Mrs. Cecil C.Taylor.
ceciltaylor@w.cn


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