419 scam: "LUCAS"<hooldus@melasiauto.ee> AWAITING OPPORTUNIT-EE

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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "antonio.lucas15@yahoo.pt" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +34602682337 (Spain, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "LUCAS" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <antonio.lucas15@yahoo.pt>
Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2015 05:06:29 -0500
Subject: AWAITING OPPORTUNIT-EE

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

I AM SENDING THIS E-MAIL TO YOU BASED ON INFORMATION I GATHERED THROUGH MY PERSONAL RESEARCH. I MUST APOLOGISE FOR USING THIS MEDIUM TO REACH YOU FOR A BUSINESS OF THIS MAGNITUDE.

I BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO HELP US IN OUR BID TO TRANSFER THE SUM OF TWENTY ONE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($21.5M USD) INTO A FOREIGN ACCOUNT.

WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE FOR BUDGET AND PLANNING OF AN OIL COMPANY IN SPAIN (NAME WITHELD)OUR COMMITTEE IS PRINCIPALLY CONCERNED WITH APPRAISAL/APPROVAL OF CONTRACTS AND OTHER CAPITAL PROJECT OF THE COMPANY.

WITH OUR POSITIONS, WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY SECURED FOR OURSELVES THE SUM OF TWENTY ONE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATED DOLLARS (US$25.5M) THIS AMOUNT WAS ACCUMULATED THROUGH UNDECLARED WINDFALL FROM PETROLUEM SALES.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU IS TO PROVIDE A SAFE ACCOUNT INTO WHICH THE FUNDS WILL BE TRANSFERRED SINCE AS CIVIL SERVANTS WE ARE NOT ALLOWED BY OUR LAWS TO RUN A FOREIGN ACCOUNT. IT HAS BEEN AGREED THAT THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT USE FOR THIS TRANSACTION WILL BE COMPENSATED WITH 30% OF THE REMITTED FUNDS, 60% WILL BE FOR I AND MY COLLEAQUE AND 10% WILL BE SETASIDE TO OFFSET EXPENSES AND PAY THE NECESSARY TAXES.

AS A MATTER OF FACT WE NEED A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON OR A REPUTABLE COMPANY TO DO BUSINESS WITH HENCE THIS LETTER TO YOU, SO IF YOU CAN PROVE YOURSELF TO BE TRUSTED AND INTERESTED IN THIS DEALTHEN WE ARE PREPARED TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU. WHAT WE WANT FROM YOU IS THE ASSURANCE THAT YOU WILL LET US HAVE OUR SHARE WHEN THIS AMOUNT OF US$21.5M IS TRANSFERRED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.

IF THIS PROPOSAL SATISFIES YOU, PLEASE EMAIL US IN ORDER TO ADVICE YOU ON THE PROCEDURES OF THE TRANSACTION. ALL MODALITIES OF THE TRANSFER HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT AND ONCE STARTED IT WILL NOT TAKE MORE THAN 14 WORKING DAYS WITH THE ABSOLUTE SUPPORT OF ALL CONCERNED. THIS TRANSACTION IS 100% RISK FREE AND SAFE.

PLEASE TREAT AS URGENT AND VERY CONFIDENTIAL AS I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR REPLY.

YOURS FAITHFULLY

ANTONIO LUCAS
EMAIL:antonio.lucas15@yahoo.pt
TEL: +34 602 682 337

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam