419 scam: "Bradwell"<collinsbradwells@live.com> Collins. Hello

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
This email message is a next of kin scam.
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- collinsbradwell@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Bradwell" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <collinsbradwell@aim.com>
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:36:42 +0100
Subject: Collins. Hello

Dear friend,
I’m sure this e-mail will get to you like a surprise but it's true.
I'm at a routine check in my bank where I work;
encountered in an account that has not been claimed,
which is currently $ 14.300,000 ((Fourteen million U.S. Dollars) are credited.

This account belonged to Mr. Christian Eich, a customer of our bank,
who sadly died. Mr. Christian Eich was a native of German.

I an my two colleague have decided to transfer the above stated sum abroad for investment purpose since there is no one to claim the funds, and we don’t want the government to confiscate the funds.

I need the cooperation of a foreign partner like you, who we shall present as a partner/next of kin to the late Mr. Christian Eich, so that we can transfer the funds to your account.

For this support, you will receive 30% of the sum while the remaining 70% I will share with my two colleagues working with me in the bank.

If you are interested, you can send me an e-mail, so I can send you more details.

Please send your response to this e-mail address:

collinsbradwell@aim.com

Please Read:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm

Sincerely,

Collins Bradwell.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam