419 scam: "Gareth & Catherine Bull" <mr.catheringareth44@qq.com> OUR OWN CHARITY PROJECT

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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:

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)
- "million british 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)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "mr.catheringareth4@qq.com" (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.

Fraud email example:

From: "Gareth & Catherine Bull" <mr.catheringareth44@qq.com>
Reply-To: mr.catheringareth4@qq.com
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2015 23:40:20 +0200
Subject: OUR OWN CHARITY PROJECT

Dear Sir/Madam, Good day,to you and your family,My wife and I won th=
e Euro Millions Lottery of =A341 Million British Pounds and we have decide=
d to donate =A31.5 million British Pounds (One million five hundred Thousan=
d British Pounds) each to 4 individuals worldwide as part of our own charit=
y project. To verify,please see our interview by visiting the web page bel=
ow: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2091124/EuroMillions-winner=
s-Gareth-Catherine-Bull-scoop-41MILLION-lotto-jackpot.html Your email a=
ddress was among the emails which were submitted to us by the Google, Inc =
as a web user; if you have received our email please, kindly send us the b=
elow details so that we can transfer your =A31,500,000 British Pounds. in =
your name or direct our bank to effect the transfer of the funds to your =
operational bank account in your country, congratulations. Full Name: =
Mobile No: Age: Address: Country: Occupation: Send your response=
to ( mr.catheringareth4@qq.com ) Best Regards, Gareth & Catherine Bul=
l =20

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam