419 scam: "David Smith Solicitors, London ENGLAND" <solicitor.probert@yahoo.com> UN/AU Compensation Payment 2011

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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:
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +4407045706631

Fraud email example:

From: "David Smith Solicitors, London ENGLAND" <solicitor.probert@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: <solicitor.proberts@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:55:26 +0100
Subject: UN/AU Compensation Payment 2011

Dear,

Based on the present anti-fraud/scam war, the African Union (AU) Anti-fraud team in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) are making sure that financial fraud is wiped out in the Africa continent completely. The Internet Service Providers have noticed an increased email traffic originating from Africa to other continents, hence the action of the security operatives.

In this regard, three hundred and six (306) bank and government officials have been arrested in so many African and European countries so far and arrest is still going on. We have recovered the total sum of US$3.2 Billion from them in both cash and assets confirmed to have come from their victims and foreign beneficiaries' of both contract funds, inheritance funds and lottery winnings. Thousands of email addresses of victims (which includes yours) have also been recovered from their address books. It is at this juncture that we are contacting you because you are now listed as one of the beneficiaries of the UN/AU compensation payment of 2011 batch "A".

The African Union (AU) with the United Nations (UN) are making refunds of US$500,000.00 each to all foreigners whom his/her email address is listed on the recovered address book of these arrested fraudulent officials. This refund is of two types:

(a) Those who are beneficiaries of either contract, inheritance or lottery funds.
(b) Those who are simply found to be scam victims, by receiving fraudulent and scam email letters from these officials, will receive a flat rate compensation of $500,000.00 each.

Contact me to know the modalities with which you can receive your payment based on the category you fall into.

NOTE: You are hereby advised to disassociate yourself from any form of communication with these banking and government officials mostly from African countries and follow our guidelines.

Barrister Chris Williams Esq.,
David Smith & Co. Solicitors,
323 Green Lane, N4 2ES London,
England.
Tel: +44 (0) 70 4570 6631

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam