419 scam: "Williams Smith"<williamssmith7171@gmail.com> Attention Friend, Kindly respond to my mail.

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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.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "% will be for you" (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)
- "transaction is risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
This email message is a next of kin scam.
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.
- williamssmith7172@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Williams Smith"<williamssmith7171@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <williamssmith7172@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2016 09:45:10 +0100
Subject: Attention Friend, Kindly respond to my mail.

Dear Friend,

My name is Williams Smith. I work with a finance house here in the UK London.

During my last meeting and examination of the bank accounts within
our bank, my department found a dormant account with an enormous sum
of US$ 55,500,000.00 (fifty five million five hundred thousand US
dollar) which was deposited by a late Mr.Stefen from Germany before
his death. From our investigation he had no next of kin to claim these
funds.

According to the London banking regulation only a foreigner can stand
as next of kin, considering the fact that the depositor was a Dutch. I
need your permission to stand as a partner of our deceased customer,
so that the funds can be released and transferred to your bank account
immediately.

At the end of the transaction 30% will be for you and 60% will be for
me and my colleagues.while 10% will be set aside to offset all
incidental expenses during the cause of this transaction.

I still work at the financial house and that's the reason I need a
second party to work with. I have in my possession all the necessary
documents to have this transaction carried out successfully.

Further information will be provided upon the receipt of your prompt
response. Also take note that this transaction is risk free, all I
need is your honesty and trust. If you are interested in this
transaction Kindly reply me with the following info:

Full Name ..............................................................
Company Name.....................................................
Official Statutes/Position....................................
Contact Address ..................................................
Country of Origin ................................................
Date of Birth.........................................................
Phone Number ..................Cell Phone ....................
Occupation.......................................................
Sex........................................................................
Marital status...................................................

This is to immediately effect the swift transfer of this fund into
your account in less than (7) working days after commencement of the
process.

Kindly reply back through my private email: williamssmith7172@gmail.com

Best regards.Williams Smith

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Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam