419 scam: "Barrister Graham Jones" <shop@WCLS.local> Re: Business Partnership

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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.

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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:
- "i will like you to " (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)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "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.
- +447043083020 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Barrister Graham Jones" <shop@WCLS.local>
Reply-To: grahamjones@wildblue.net
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:09:57 -0400
Subject: Re: Business Partnership

Good day to you!

Before I proceed I must first apologize for this unsolicited letter to you, I am aware that this is certainly not a conventional way of approach to establish a relationship of trust but you will realize the need for my action. I am a LEGAL PRACTITIONERS & FINANCIAL SOLICITORS. Actually, I got your contact information through the public records while searching for a relative or business partner to my late client, a business magnate in Europe, Asia and America for Twenty good years but unfortunately died along with her family during the Tsunami catastrophic which occurred on Sunday, 26 December 2004.

Before her death, she deposited two vaults, containing the sum of Two Hundred Million United States Dollars with a Financial Security Bank in Europe. The Holding Financial Security Bank has mandated me to present any family member or business partner to be her heir/inheritor for claims before the vaults gets confiscated or reverts to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security as unclaimed vaults. I contacted you because I've search for any of my late client's relative or business partner to no avail as she did not declare any name in the official paper works at the time she deposited the funds in the vaults. Against this backdrop, my suggestion to you is that I will like you to stand as the beneficiary to my late client as her business partner so that the fund (vaults) will be released to you. With my position as her lawyer, I will obtain relevant documents that will assist your claims and facilitate the release of the funds to you if only you can give me your consent to use your name and address as the beneficiary.

Be assured that this transaction is 100% risk free as all modalities to actualize the operation effectively are already in place for the release of the vaults to you immediately. Once the funds are released to you, we will share 45% each and 10% will be set aside for any expenses incurred during this transaction. Kindly indicate your interest to this letter by providing me with only your FULL NAME, ADDRESS, DATE OF BIRTH, OCCUPATION and TELEPHONE NUMBER for further clarifications. However, please be kind to get back to me, if you are not willing to work with me, so that I can further my search for another partner.

Kind Regards,
Barrister Graham Jones
United Kingdom
Fax: +44-704-3083020

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