419 scam: williamgraeves4life@gmail.com How i became an orphan...

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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.
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.
- williamgreaves4life@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: williamgraeves4life@gmail.com
Reply-To: williamgreaves4life@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2015 07:28:07 -0700
Subject: How i became an orphan...

I greet you,

My name is Prince William Greaves, i am a Sierra-Leone orphan boy and a victim of circumstance. I need your help after my parents and little sister were killed the same week by by Ebola Virus.

You can see how this deadly virus has killed so many innocent people in my country: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28754546

My late father was also the King of our village. Before his death, he deposited the sum of $14,820,000 USA Dollars (Fourteen Million Eight Hundred And Twenty Thousand USA Dollars) in Ghana where i am presently undergoing rehabilitation at a United Nations (UN) refugee camp. This inheritance can give me new hope to survive.I need your assistance in receiving this fund as my guardian and late father's foreign partner, then assist me come over to your country to live and continue my education till i am mature enough to go into business. My condition at the refugee camp is ugly and traumatic! please help! Below is my email: williamgreaves4life@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Prince William Greaves.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam