419 scam: "Baker & Mckenzie Law Firm"<mail@tpg.com.au> Baker & Mckenzie Law Firm ( From Harry Goldman Esq)

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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "my names are " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
This email message is a next of kin scam.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.

Fraud email example:

From: "Baker & Mckenzie Law Firm" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <kenzielawfirm@tlen.pl>
Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:11:25 -0700
Subject: Baker & Mckenzie Law Firm ( From Harry Goldman Esq)

>From The Desk Of
Baker & Mckenzie Law Firm,
1 Essex Street, London WC2R 3HY,
United Kingdom.

Before i proceed, May i kindly identify myself ,
My names are Barrister Harry Goldman and i work as a lawyer to the above mentioned law firm in London Uk.
This mail is written to solicit your assistance to be presented as next of kin to my late Clients Mr Frederick M Wong and his wife Ms Lilla C wong
who died in a plane crash some years back.

They lost their lives aboard Egypt Air Flight 990 which crashed in the Atlantic Ocean on October 31 1999.
You can View this page for further information http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/502503.stm

He deposited the sum of fourty seven million United States Dollars ($47,000,000) in a financial firm in Europe and
i am in custody of the Certificate of Deposit and all other vital documents he had while alive.
In His will before he boarded that ill fated flight , He said and i quote" When i pass on , my wife automatically becomes the beneficiary of all my estates and funds
but infortunately, His wife was on board with him in that ill fated flight so, the both couples died at the same time.
Ever since after their death, the bank where he deposited his funds has contacted me severally for his next of kin to claim his funds and become the beneficary of the funds,But i have tried all my best to locate anybody that is related to my late client all to no avail and that is why i am contacting you for us to avail ourselves of this rare and Gods given opportunity.

The deal is very simple and clear as i have used my experience as a renown lawyer to carve out legal modalities of claiming these funds from the bank where they were deposited. I will have to empower you with the Certificate of Deposite (C O D) and pose you to the bank as the Next Of Kin to my late client thereby making you the beneficiary of these funds. I have been mandated by the bank to do this before the end of this month as failure to provide the Next of Kin will attract funds confiscation by the Government of Netherlands.
I do not want this to happen to the deposited funds, hence i contacted you to partner with me in the claims.

NB: We can invest these funds in Energy as a joint venture or share the funds in 60% /40% ratio
Disregard this email as the contents are highly confidential if you are not interested and respond to me asap if you are interested in the deal.

Regards,
Harry Goldman Esq

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam