joewein.net   joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days
  jwSpamSpy

Home
About Us
Spam
419/Nigeria
Fraud
Contact

"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: garuba usman <garuba_usman01@sify.com>
Reply-To: garubausman11@megamail.pt
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:02:52 -0800 (PST)
Subject: WITH DUE RESPECT




FROM THE DESK OF GARUBA USMAN
BILL AND EXCHANGE DEPT,
BANK OF AFRICA
OUAGADOUGOU,BURKINA FASO
WEST AFRICA.

With Due Respect,


I know that this mail will come to you as a surprise as we have never met before, but need not to worry as I am using the only secured and confidential medium available to seek for your foreign assistance in a business.

I am contacting you independently of my investigation and no one is informed of this communication.

My name is Dr.Garuba Usman I am of the bill and exchange of Bank of Africa Plc .

I Hope that you will not expose or betray this trust and confident that I am about to repose on you for the mutual benefit of our both families.

I am writing in respect of a foreign customer of our Bank who perished along with his next of kin with Korean Air Line, flight number 801 with the whole passengers on 6th of augustus 1997 and for your perusal you can view this site http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9708/06/guam.passenger.list

Since the demise of this our customer, I personally has watched with keen interest to see the next of kin but all has proved abortive as no one has come to claim his funds of US$10.5M (Ten Million five Hundred Thoudsand United States Dollars) which has been with our branch for a very long time.

On this note, I decided to seek for whom his name shall be used as the Next- of -Kin since nobody is coming for the fund again.

The Banking ethics here does not allow such money to stay more than 12 years, because the money will be recalled to the Bank treasury as unclaimed fund after this period.

In view of this I got your contact through the internet when I was making a research for a foreigner that I will use in this great opportunity because I dont want the money to be recalled to our Bank treasury as uncliamed fund.

I am offering you 40% of the total sum if you agree to execute this transaction with me and the rest 60% will be for me.

The reason for a foreigner in the business is for the fact that the deceased man was a foreigner and it is not authorized by the law guiding our Bank for a citizen of this country to make such claim.

This is the reason while the request of you as a foreigner is necessary to apply for the release and transfer of the fund smoothly into your reliable Bank account.

If you are really sure of your integerity, trustworthy and confidentiality, and accept not to cheat or disappoint me after this business, reply with your telephone and fax numbers and Banking account details where you wish to receive the fund.

Upon receipt of the above mentioned informations,indicating your interest in the business,I will draft and send to you by fax or e-mail a letter of application which you will re-copy and send back to our Foreign Remittance Department in our Bank, for easy execution of the transaction.

I will not fail to bring to your notice that this business is hitch free and dont have any negative implication .

Please you should not entertain any fear as I have made all modalities for the smooth and easy transfer of this fund to your account. This transaction will be completed within 14 Bank working days immediately we start the business.

Please observe utmost confidentiality and be rest assured that this transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require your assistance to invest my share in your country immediately after the transaction.

Waiting for your urgent response and please kindly delete if you are not interested.

Yours faithfully,
GARUBA USMAN
Bill and exchange,
Bank Of Africa



Anti-fraud resources: