419 scam: "Patricia" <root@idola.net.id> Re: Charity work..

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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:
- "offshore account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "stay blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
This email message is a "dying widow" 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.
- gunnarsson00@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Patricia" <root@idola.net.id>
Reply-To: mrs.patriciagunnarsson@yandex.com
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2023 21:44:28 -0800
Subject: Re: Charity work..

Dear

Complement of the season,

I greet you in the name of God, it is true that this letter may come as a surprise to you, but nevertheless I humbly ask you to pay attention to me and listen to me well. My name is Mrs Patricia and I am married to the late Engr George Gunnarsson who worked for 19 years at Tullow Oil plc, a multinational oil and gas exploration company here in London before he passed away on 25th August 2020.

We were married for 24 years without a child and my husband died after a short illness and after his death I decided not to remarry due to my religious beliefs and old age. When my late husband was alive we deposited a total of $3,200,000 into his offshore account at Cahoot Bank here in London. And this fund is currently sitting in the bank waiting for the day I use it. At the moment, the money is still in the bank's possession. Recently my doctor told me that I could not live more than the next 3 months because of my cancer.

Please get back to me on this email: gunnarsson00@yahoo.com Let me know if you can help me with this humanitarian work.

Thank you and stay blessed.

Mrs. Patricia Gunnarsson

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam