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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: mrthomas_allen@freenet.de
Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:53:22 +0100
Subject: HELLO DEAR FRIEND,INVITATION TO ACT AS .....


From Barrister Thomas Allen Liverpool. England.
Sir/ Madam, I
am Barrister Thomas Allen a personal attorney of an arabian prince
hereinafter referred to as” my client\". I represent the interest
of my client and I will like to negotiate the terms of investment of
resources available to him. My client, a formal Contractor working with
the Emirates Council of Dubai, had left behind a deposit of Twelve
Million Eight Hundred Thousand United States Dollars only ($12.8million)
with a finance company here in europe. The said fund originated from
contract transactions he executed in his area of business on behalf of
the emirate government.Now the money is ready for claim,so I was
contacted by the finance company for claim and my client ask that i come
to london and look for a trusted person to claim it since he can not
come physically due to presure back home. Well I reasoned very
professionally and resolved to use a legal means to retrieve my
client\'s funds. That is to present a next of kin of my client to the
bank. This is legally possible and would be done in accordance with the
laws of the land. On this note I decided to search for a credible person
and from the same country, I was urged to contact you, that I may, with
your consent, present you to the \"trustee\" as my client\'s family
(Cousin) member so as to enable you put up a claim to the bank in that
capacity as a Next of Kin of my client. As as you let me know of your
intention to be part of this project then we talk percentage. I know you
may be afraid about this offer and how i came to know you but note that
after a little search and check my instinct tells me to contact you. Can
I trust you on this? I shall assemble all the necessary documents that
will be used to back up your claim. I guarantee that this will be
executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any
breach of law. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this
proposal is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any fears as
the required arrangements have been made for the completion of this
transfer. As I said, Please get in touch with me by my alternative
email: thomas_allen008@live.com for better confidentiality and send to
me your 1. Name:
2. Address:
3. Age:
4. Country: (Present Location)
5.
Nationality:
6. Telephone:
7. Fax number: (if any)
further on this
transaction. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL RESPONED TO THIS MAIL SHOULD BE SENT
TO thomas_allen008@live.com Thanks for your understanding.

Kind
Regards.Thomas Allen esq
Unbegrenzter Speicher, Top-Spamschutz, 120
SMS und eigene E-MailDomain
inkl.
http://office.freenet.de/dienste/emailoffice/produktuebersicht/power/mail/index.html


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