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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: "mark foster" <markf103@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mf30297@live.com
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 18:56:32 -0400
Subject: Please respond



From: Mark Foster (Welling & Associates, Fulham,
London SW6 1RP, United
Kingdom).

Hello,

I am Mark Foster, an attorney here in the United
Kingdom. I am writingfollowing an opportunity in my
office that will be of immense benefit to both of us.

I was the legal counsel to the late Mr. Rudolf
Haeussler, a German who unfortunately lost his life in
the 24 November 2001 Crossair aircraft
crash of the 97-seat Jumbolino Avero RJ-100 aircraft
en route from Berlin,Germany to Zurich, Switzerland,
killing also his wife and only daughter.
The aircraft crashed in poor weather conditions as it
approached Zurich airport.

Before his death, I assisted him in depositing a
consignment containing the sum of US$19.1M (Nineteen
Million One Hundred Thousand US Dollars)
with a financial institution in one of the major
cities here in Europe.

Since I got information about his death, I have been
expecting his next of kin or relatives to come over
and claim his money. Unfortunately I learnt
that his supposed next of kin being his only daughter
died along with him in the plane crash leaving noone
with the knowledge of this fund . It is
therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to do
business with you and release the money to you as the
next of kin or beneficiary of the
funds for safe keeping and subsequent disbursement
since nobody is coming for it. I would need you as a
Foreigner acting as the next of kin and sole
benefactor to the inheritance of late Mr. Rudolf
Haeussler to claim the funds for us to share.


There are no risks whatsoever involved in this
transaction as everything will be done legally and
within the purview of the Law.All neccessary
documents will be duly applied for and obtained.
Please endeavor to observe utmost discretion in all
matters concerning this issue. Once the
funds have been transferred, we shall share in the
ratio of 60% for me,35% for you and 5% for any
expenses incurred during the course of this
operation. Should you be interested,please send me
your telephone and fax numbers for easy communication.

In the event you are not interested, I sincerely ask
that you disregard this email and tell no one about
it. I am very careful not to truncate my
legal career should you mention this to someone else.
I hope you can be trusted in this regard.

Please note that all necessary arrangement for the
smooth release of these funds to you have been
finalised. We will discuss more in details when I
receive your response.

Your earliest response to this letter will be
appreciated.

Best regards,
Mark Foster esq.


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