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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: "Mr. Edward B. Abayateye" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mredwara.b@outlook.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 13:00:44 -0400
Subject: From Mr. Edward B. Abayateye.....12/07/2013

Hello dear,

I am Mr. Edward Boateng Abayateye. A Ghanaian by nationality. I lived and worked in Aleppo, Syria for many years. I had to fly back to my country because of the raging war. Presently I am working as a Business Consultant.

When I was working in Aleppo, Syria, I made a lot of friends both in business and politics. While I was working there, I happen to be a family friend to a highly devoted Muslim and a disciplined Diplomat named Mohammed Al Ali. He was a very close friend to my company Chairman then due to political affiliations. Mohammed Al Ali worked with President Assad before he defected and joined in the Free Syrian Army Group. He was also very close to the President of Syria.

Why I am sending you this mail is because this man's first wife has just informed me that the man has been killed and they are trapped in the raging war in Syria. All his children and wives have gone underground because of fear of being killed too. She told me that the man's WILL has just been read secretly in a Probate Registry; And the WILL revealed that the man has left the sum of $25million in favour of her and her four children and the fund is deposited in a financial institution in Europe.

She told me to help and get a trustworthy person who can assist her to secure the release of these funds, invest and manage it in accordance with her late husband's wish in the WILL. Do you have a sound financial back ground with which to secure the release of these funds without attracting any attention? If your answer is yes, please respond to this mail by sending me:

[1] Your full Names:
[2] Your company's full name, address and your position in the company:
[3] Your private telephone Number:

Further details of the transaction shall be forwarded to you as soon as I receive your response. Please treat this proposal with utmost confidentiality.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,
Mr. Edward B. Abayateye,
Ed Abayateye Consulting ltd
25 Abedi Pele Avenue,
East Legon, Accra - Ghana
Email: mredwara.b@outlook.com

Anti-fraud resources: