419 scam: "Van Smith"<admin@rd139.com> PLEASE NOTE

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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)
- "transfer of your funds" (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)
- "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)
- ",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)
- "waiting for your urgent response" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Van Smith" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <vansmith@xnmsn.cn>
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2011 01:20:10 -0000
Subject: PLEASE NOTE

Dear Friend,

We wish to inform you of your pending transaction and the reason why you have not been able to claim your funds worth the sum of (USD$3,500,000.00 Three Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) was because you were dealing with scammers and they have been diverting you from one office to another and also extorting money from you for various documentations before you receive your funds all to no avail.

We have been mandated to give you legal instructions on the best possible way to receive your funds without no delay. So get back to us so that we can give you further details on how to receive your funds and also give the contact details of the paying bank where your pending funds are deposited for immediate transfer of your funds to your provided account.

We shall be waiting for your urgent response and furnish us with the following information for processing, full name,age,occupation,sex,address and your direct telephone numbers for further communications.

We are always at your service.

Best Regards,
Mr. Van Smith.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam