419 scam: "Bernard Williams"<bnldwill@m1net.com.sg> Treat as Urgent.

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

Fraud email example:

From: "Bernard Williams" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <bernw212@outlook.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2015 17:39:01 -0700
Subject: Treat as Urgent.

Dear Friend,

I am Mr. Bernard Williams, the Auditor General of a reputable bank here in the United Kingdom. In the course of my auditing, I discovered a floating fund in an account which was opened in 1997 belonging to a depositor that bear the same last name with you who died in 2003. Every effort made to track any member of his family or next of kin has since failed; hence I got in contact with you. He died leaving no heir or a will.

My intention for contacting you is to transfer the funds in an aforementioned account to a safe account overseas. I am therefore proposing that you quietly partner with me and provide an account or set up a new one that will serve the purpose of receiving this funds. For your assistance in this venture, I am ready to part with a good percentage of the entire funds. A response from you will be expected for further insight to my detailed proposition, please be kind enough to respond back for more details.

I look forward to your prompt response.

Best Regards,

Mr. Bernard Williams.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam