joewein.de LLC fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter! Free trial for 30 days

"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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.

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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: <patrickchuks63@yahoo.com.ar>
Date: Thu, 04 May 2006 12:21:54 +0000
Subject: NEXT OF KIN__REPLY ASAP

Dear friend,

I am the Financial lawyer to the late Mr. Steve Williams and he was an oil
Merchant with investment in the leading oil in Africa. He invested in
Lifting oil from Niger delta in Nigeria to other countries where he
Sales it. He was the highest shareholder in Shell petroleum Bp in 1994. Mr. Steve Williams met his untimely death via plane crash in the 2002. I was contacted as his lawyer by the Board of Directors of Shell Bp to look for the relative of late Mr. Steve Williams to enable them transfer the accumulated share dividend of his investment with the Diamond Bank of Nigeria Limited.

I made some research about the relatives of Mr. Steve Williams and
Discovered through some DNA reports that some other two passengers in the same plane happened to be his wife and only daughter Mr. Steve Williams who also died along with him in the crash.

I am contacting you so that both of us can reach an agreement to enable you
act as his next of kin and claim the fund. Of course they will believe me
because I am his financial lawyer until his death and I have all his business
documents with me. I would have use someone from here for the purpose but the fact that late Mr. Steve Williams is a white man made it impossible for me to
present a black man as his next of kin which of course, the bank will not honor.

All the document will be validated in your name and shall be drafted by me to
include your name in an application which will be forwarded to the bank for the claims. The money is just USD31.5Million dollars. I will personally monitor the progress of the transaction as your lawyer. After we have succeed in transferring the money into your account, we will give some portion of the money to charity home in your country and then share the remaining in the ratio 70% to 30% between you and I. If you are willing to work with me in this regard, please, forward to me through this email address:

1) Your full name and contact address
2) Your phone and fax number ( cell phone)

Thanks and God bless you.

Barr. Patrick Chuks, Esq.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam