419 scam: GEORGE JONES <georgesjones0001@gmail.com> PLEASE REPLY THIS MAIL URGENT

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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "may come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",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)
- "00,000.00" (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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: GEORGE JONES <georgesjones0001@gmail.com>
Reply-To: georgejones001@topmail.com
Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2010 20:31:24 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: PLEASE REPLY THIS MAIL URGENT

Dear Friend,
I know that this letter may come to you as a surprise, but you need not to worry as I use this way to contact you it is due to is the only means I can reach you confidentially as a foreigner to seek for your assistance in this matter, My name is Mr. George Jones I am the manager audit and account department of our bank, (ADB) Ouagadougou Burkina Faso infect I kindly made up my mind to contact you to use your account to transfer the sum of THIRTY NINE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND US. DOLLARS ($39,500,000.00 US DOLLARS) into your bank account and this fund was abandoned and left unclaimed with our bank for a long time and once the fund get transferred into your account, you will take 40% while I will take 60% of the total money. If you are interested in this transaction, you have to reply this mail immediately with your full information so that I will let you know the next step to follow immediately in order to finalize this transaction in a period
of time. I am expecting your reply soonest with your personal information as follow (1) Your Full Name:................. (2) Your Full Address:.............. (3) Your Phone Number:.......... (4) Your Occupation:............... (5) Your Age:......................... (6) Your Nationality:................
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. George Jones

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam