419 scam: "Smith James"<inf@yahoo.com> AMERICAN REPRESENTATIVE IS NEEDED URGENTLY

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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:
- "% commission" (Beware of any scheme that involves depositing checks or money orders or receiving wire transfers in your bank account and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere, for a percentage of 5-15% of the total. Such offers are *always* fraudulent and you will be liable for the entire amount when the checks, money orders or wire transfers turn out to be fraudulent. Any money already forwarded comes out of *your* pocket then. )
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cashier's check" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Smith James" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <smith.jm2009@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 19:33:42 -0400
Subject: AMERICAN REPRESENTATIVE IS NEEDED URGENTLY

Hello Friend,

Good day to you, I greet you in the name of our lord Jesus Christ, My name is Mr
Smith James I'm artist by profession,I'm a British man and I base in Nigeria,
I'm married with three kids.

I got your email address on the British Chamber of Commerce and I decided to
contact you.Actually I'm looking for a representative in UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA USA, I have a job offer that will earn you more money every week, this
job offer will not stop you from your daily job, and the job offer is thus:

All my customers are AMERICANS, and they all want to pay me with Cashier Check,
and it is always very hard from me to cash the cashier's check here in Lagos,
Nigeria, because the Nigerian Government does not permit the usage of
cashier's check here in Nigeria.So therefore I decided to search for a
reliable and honest person in AMERICA to help me in cashing the cashier?s checks
and send me physical cash here in Nigeria.

I have so many customers in AMERICA and If you are interested, you will be
earning more money every week as 10% commission as my AMERICAN
REPRESENTATIVE,this job offer will not affect your present work, all I need from
you is honesty and trust, kindly send me the information's below and I will have
my customers send the cashier's check to you immediately:

Your Complete Legal Name.
Your Present Residential Address.
Your CurrentHouse/Mobile Telephone Number.

As soon as I receive the above details from you, I will contact all my customers
to post the cashier's check to your home address as my AMERICA REPRESENTATIVE, I
want to bring to your notice that you will not involve any of your money into
this job offer, you won't spend any money in this job offer not even a dime,
consider this job offer and reply back to me with the above details, Thanks as I
await your immediate response.

Sincerely Yours.
Mr Smith James

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam