419 scam: "Mr. Jon Burns"<jon_burnson@usa.com> Re: Once in a LifeTime........

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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)
- ",000,000" (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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
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.
- jonburnsprivate@usa.com (Outblaze.com, Hong Kong; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Jon Burns" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jonb206@usa.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 14:15:49 +0300
Subject: Re: Once in a LifeTime........

Name: Mr. Jon Burns
Contact Email: JONBURNSPRIVATE@USA.COM

Dear Friend, I write to you as a matter of urgency in respect of a business transaction which I trust
will be of interest to you.It pertains certain accounts which in the wake of the september 11 attacks
were "MARKED" by the Counter-terrorism unit of the FBI, these accounts are belonging to key arab
businessmen and influential players in the mid-east,these accounts have been a subject of investigation
and has since been cleared by the FBI and I have been entrusted with the duty of returning these
account to the rightful owners but unfortunately a lot of these people are no where to be found.

If interested, my proposal is for you to be the sole beneficiary of these funds which is running into
$126,000,000 USD. This partnership is to be on 50%-50% basis. Get back to me immediately on this
email (jonburnsprivate@usa.com) if you are interested with your name and address.

Yours faithfully,
Mr. Jon Burns.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam