419 scam: "FROM JAMES NOVO"<.jamesnovo@rediffmail.com> From Dr.James Novo

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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:
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
- "chief auditor" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
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.
- +22997019322 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "FROM JAMES NOVO" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jamesnovo@jormall.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:33:48 -0800
Subject: From Dr.James Novo

>From Dr.James Novo

Good day my dear,

Hope you are in good health with your family. I wish to contact you for a lucrative deal that will uplift us financially without any trouble if you can hold trust to the highest esteem.

I am the Chief Auditor of our bank in Benin Republic. We are doing our annual audit, where I was fortunate to discover the sum of Eight million five hundred thousand United States dollars(US$8.5million), from a non-domiliciary account, left unclaimed since 6 years ago without anyone coming for the claim. My investigation revealed that the foreign account holder died with his whole family which rendered the account unclaimed till date. now there is no successor to claim this fund.

To avoid a close off to the account or to send the fund to the bank treasury as the law stated, I request that you apply as the only existing distant relative/business partner to the foreign deceased customer, which will enable our bank to release the fund into your account without any problem. This transaction will be executed under proper legal arrangements that will make your involvement unquestionable.

If you are interested, respond immediately with your direct phone numbe for more detailed information. I am looking forward to read from you.

Yours faithfully,
Dr.James Novo
My Direct Tel:+229 97 01 93 22

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam