419 scam: "Mrs Maria Wolfgang"<0809998@cirno.de> My Greeting,

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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:
- "mariawolfgang02@barid.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "mariawolfgang02@barid.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs Maria Wolfgang" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mariawolfgang02@barid.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2015 03:57:19 +0100
Subject: My Greeting,

My greetings,

I am sending you this mail in good faith. I am Mrs. Maria Wolfgang, an America citizen currently undergoing medical treatment for cancer. My late husband Engr. Herbert Wolfgang was a contractor with the United Kingdom consulate for many years before he died in 2002. We had an account with a financial institution in Benin where we deposited all our assets and life savings worth (US$2.5M) for a fixed period. I have just been informed by my doctor that I only have few months to leave due to the cancer illness.

Having known my condition that will not allow me claim the funds personally and will no longer be able to travel to Benin now; I have decided to nominate you as my beneficiary since the financial institution have now written me that the length of time agreed upon to hold my funds is now expired. My desire and purpose is for you to promote humanitarian works. That is, assisting the less privileged and building orphanage homes in your country and to offset my medical bills.

Please assure me that you will act accordingly, I encourage you to email me for more information.

PLEASE REPLY BACK ON THIS EMAIL : mariawolfgang02@barid.com

PLEASE REPLY BACK ON THIS EMAIL : mariawolfgang02@barid.com

Thank you,

Mrs. Maria Wolfgang

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam