419 scam: "MS. MARIA RAMOS" <mailweb157@gmail.com> Hello

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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:
- "may come to you as a surprise" (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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "MS. MARIA RAMOS" <mailweb157@gmail.com>
Reply-To: msmariaramos100@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2021 10:57:48 +0200
Subject: Hello

My name is Maria Ramos. Born in Lisbon, Portugal, but my late parents
emigrated to South Africa when I was 6 years old. I am a
businesswoman, banker and corporate executive. Kindly, you can
research me to know more about me if you will. I know this may come to
you as a surprise because you do not know me, but I sincerely need
your trust and assistance urgently because of my present health
condition - I am suffering from cancer(long-term illness). It is my
desire to have a genuine personal relationship with you.

I require your help to help me carry out my last wish of distributing
my funds to various charitable organizations around you. I have
$10,500,000 which I deposited in an escrow account here in South
Africa. The funds are clean; as these are my savings from all the
businesses and Investments I have done during my active years until I
became very ill.

Suffering from cancer of the breast; my doctor informed me that due to
my poor health condition, I would not be able to stay alive past the
next few months. Having known my condition, I decided to donate these
funds to different charitable organizations in your country. Kindly
reply and inform me if you can help me with my last wish. I will
compensate you and your family with 40% of the $10.5M for your
efforts. Thank you for your attention, as I anticipate your earliest
response.

Ms. Maria Ramos.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam