419 scam: Paul Skelton esq <skelesq@gmail.com> From: James and Skelton Solicitors

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

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:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million pounds" (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)
This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: Paul Skelton esq <skelesq@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Paul Skelton esq <pskelesq@lawyer.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 15:25:15 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: From: James and Skelton Solicitors

From: James and Skelton Solicitors

Hello and Good day,

How are you and your family, fine I hope? This is a personal email directed to you and I request that it be treated as such. I am Paul Skelton, a solicitor at law and I represent a late top company executive, I have a very sensitive and private brief to ask for your partnership to re-profile funds over £12.8 million pounds (Twelve Million Eight Hundred Thousand British Pounds Sterling). I will give the details, but in summary, the funds are coming via a Securities Finance House in Europe and this is a legitimate transaction.

More so, I have received official letters in the last few weeks suggesting a likely proceeding for confiscation of my late client abandoned personal assets in line with existing laws by the Finance House in which my client deposited the sum of £9.8 million pounds. On this note i decided to search for a credible person and finding that you bear a similar last name, I decided to contact you, that I may, with your consent, present you to the "trustee" Security finance house as my late client's surviving family member so as to enable you put up a claim to the finance house in that capacity as a next of kin of my client.

Upon the receipt of your reply, I will send you by fax or E-mail the next step to take. 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. Like I have implied, I require only a solemn confidentiality on this. Please reply to my email address or fax me +44-843-265-1810.

I hope to hear from you urgently.

Sincerely yours,
Paul Skelton Esq.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam