419 scam: MR DONALDSON ELLIOT <officem118@gmail.com> Important Message

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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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "can i trust you?" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: MR DONALDSON ELLIOT <officem118@gmail.com>
Reply-To: s_rep57@outlook.com
Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2023 08:30:49 -0800
Subject: Important Message

Important Message

Dear Friend,

I am MR DONALDSON ELLIOT, a Senior Executive internal auditor with a
well-known bank here in London, l do have an investment business
proposal that will be profitable and of great mutual benefit to both
parties.

I am seeking your consent to present you as next of kin to my client
late John Shumejda who died in a plane crash some years
back, You can read more about his death on this BBC news link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/1742404.stm

During my audit, I discovered his account left dormant and inactive,
then I checked on his next of kin space, there was no name there and
all the effort for my bank to location his relatives has been negative
effort and the total money in his account is $35,000,000.00 only.

As an auditor, I am the only person that knows about this account and
I have kept it to myself looking for a very well trusted person that
can partner with me to move out this fund from my bank then we can
share it 60% for me,30% will go for you then 10% will be mapped out
for any expenses for documentations.

Please can I trust you? this is 100% free risk as far as I'm concern,
I know what to do to get this fund to your account through my lawyer
who will present you to the bank as his relatives with the letter of
administration.

Further details will be communicated to you upon your response.

Thanks,
Yours faithfully
MR.DONALDSON ELLIOT
Senior Executive Internal Auditor
3 CHURCHILL PLACE CANARY WHARF, LONDON E14 5HP,
United Kingdom

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam