419 scam: "Nelson Williams"<nelss04@aruba.it> This is our opportunity.

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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:
- "please endeavor to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Nelson Williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <nelsswilliams@voila.fr>
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:55:54 +0100
Subject: This is our opportunity.

Dearest

Please, I want to introduce myself and this business opportunity to you. My name is Mr. Nelson Williams, a bank accountant, I will need your assistance in this business transaction. I would like you to stand as the next of kin to my deceased client, Todd Zara who died in an auto crash in 2007.

He was a wealthy medical doctor who deposited a huge amount in our bank. He died without any registered next of kin and as such the funds now have an open beneficiary mandate. The banking ethics here does not allow such money to stay more than five years, the money will be recalled to the bank treasury as unclaimed bill after this period.

On your confirmation of this message and indicating your interest, I will furnish you with more details. Please endeavor to provide me the following in your reply.

1.Your Full Name:
2.Your Contact Address:
3.Your Profession:
4.Your Age:
5.Your Phone:

I urgently hope to get your response as soon as possible.

Yours Sincerely,

Nelson Williams

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam