419 scam: "Mrs Finchi Barna" <finchi_barna@yahoo.com> Top years to you,

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "with your full names" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "you will take 25%" (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)
- "contact me immediately" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
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.
- finchibarna@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs Finchi Barna" <finchi_barna@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: finchibarna@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 17:30:27 +0200
Subject: Top years to you,

Top years to you,

I crave your indulgence at this mail coming from somebody you have not
known before,i decided to do this after praying over the situation. You
should please consider the transaction on it's content and not the fact
that you have not known me before.

I need not dwell on how I came by your contact information because there
are many such possibilities these days. I would like to introduce myself
as Mrs Finchi Barna, of Repulic of Benin, widow to Late Mr. Usman Barna
(for Consular of the benin embassy in Madrid,Spain. I have been recently
been daigonosed of cancer of the lungs. I am writing from my sick bed.

There is this MONEY (in amount US$250.000 thousand cash, in US$100
bills)my husband deposited with a Bank,here in Cotonou,Republic of Benin
of which I am the next of kin. With my health condition and because my
husband and I have no children, I am looking for a credible person to whom
I will pass the right of next of kin. This person will apply to the Bank
and request from them, the procedure towards retrieving the money from
them.

This is on the condition that you will take 25% of the fund for yourself,
5% used for expenses, while you will use the remaining 70% for the less
previlege people in the society. This is in fulfilment of the last request
of my husband: that a substantial part of the fund be used to carter for
the less previleged.

If this condition is acceptable to you, you should contact me immediately
with your full names and contact information so that I will send you all
the documents that the Bank gave to my husband when the money was
deposited aswell link you with the Bank for claim,so that you will contact
the Bank directly, and demand from them the procedure towards retrieving
the money from their Bank.

The reason of contacting you is that we never can tell what will happen
during the surgery, so that in case if anything happen to me during this
operation, there will be somebady to make use of the money for the less
previleged.

I cannot predict what will be my fate by the time you wll recieve the
fund, but you should please ensure that the fund is used as i have
described above. I look forward to your response, while you reply me on
finchibarna@yahoo.com

Best Regards
Mrs Finchi Barna

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