419 scam: "Mr. James Smith" <alexogene4@gmail.com> READ AND RESPOND

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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:
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
- ",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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. James Smith" <alexogene4@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mostadalphadecision@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2022 17:21:56 -1100
Subject: READ AND RESPOND

Mr. James Smith
Funds-Transfer Director
First Financial Trust
100 Erdman Way
<https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/05YKIoFE5Kc/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fsearch%2F100%2BErdman%2BWay%2BLeominster%2C%2BMA%2B01453%2C%2BUnited%2BStates%3Fentry%3Dgmail%26source%3Dg>
Leominster, MA 01453,
<https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/05YKIoFE5Kc/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fsearch%2F100%2BErdman%2BWay%2BLeominster%2C%2BMA%2B01453%2C%2BUnited%2BStates%3Fentry%3Dgmail%26source%3Dg>
United States
<https://deref-mail.com/mail/client/05YKIoFE5Kc/dereferrer/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fsearch%2F100%2BErdman%2BWay%2BLeominster%2C%2BMA%2B01453%2C%2BUnited%2BStates%3Fentry%3Dgmail%26source%3Dg>
.

We are pleased to inform you that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in
conjunction with the United Nations (UN) have successfully recovered 50% of
funds belonging to various beneficiaries that are being held in
Africa,Asia,and Europe due to some bogus fees and charges.

Among the funds recovered is $9,500,000.00(Nine Million Five Hundred
Thousand United States Dollars) belonging to you as the beneficiary and it
has been tagged Abandoned.

We sent a notification email to you a few days ago but unfortunately, no
response has been received from you till this moment. We are sending you
this email as a final notice and you are expected to respond back within
three days of receiving this email to enable us to finalize an arrangement
to transfer your funds into your Bank Account.

Your confirmation to the above matter will be appreciated. We look forward
to hearing from you soon for further advice.

Sincerely Yours,
Mr. James Smith
(Funds-Transfer Director)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam