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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "contact me immediately" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
  • "100% hitch free" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
• This email message is a next of kin scam.
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • mrwetago1@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: lyonel wetago <mrwetago30@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:08:02 +0000
Subject: DEAR FRIEND ,$10.5 MILLION CAN YOU ASSIST ME??/KEEP IT SECRERT




FROM : MR LYONEL WETAGO.AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING UNIT. FOREIGN OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT. ECOWAS BANK, LOME- TOGO.




Dear Friend

I am writing following the impressive information about your profile through the website your capability and reliability to champion this opportunity. In my department, we discovered an abandoned sum of (10.5 million US dollars). In an account that belongs to one of our foreign customers who died along with his entire family in 31st OCTOBER 1999 in a PLANE CRASH. Since we got this information about his death, we have been expecting his next of Kin to come over and claim his money because we can not release it unless somebody applies for it as next of Kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking and financial policies but unfortunately we learnt that his supposed next of kin or relation died along side with him in the accident leaving no body behind to claim the money. It is therefore upon this discovery that I and other officials in my department now decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and we don t want this money to go into the Bank treasury as unclaimed bills. The Banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after long period, the money will be transferred into the Bank treasury as unclaimed fund.

The request for a foreigner as next of kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and an indegine cannot stand as next of kin to the deceased family. We agreed that 30% of this money will be for you as foreign partner, in respect to the provision of a foreign account, 10% will be set aside for expenses incurred during this transaction and 60 % would be for me . Thereafter I will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentages indicated. Therefore to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as arranged, you must apply first to the Bank as relation or next of kin of the deceased indicating your private, telephone and fax number for easy and effective communication and location where the money will be remitted. Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or e-mail the text of the application. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is 100% hitch free and that you should not entertain any atom of fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer. You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this letter. I decided to contact you as you have products of interest in your part of the world where we can invest our own percentage to avoid peoples awareness as we are civil servants. We can conclude this operation withing ten banking days.

Trusting to hear from you shortly. Peace and love always.

IF YOUR CAPEBLE TO ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSACTION, YOU WILL CONTACT ME THROUGH THIS EMAIL ADDRESS (mrwetago1@hotmail.com)
Best regards MR LYONEL WETAGO

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE!
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam