419 scam: Steve Burroughs <buroughs826@gmail.com> ATTN: BENEFICIARY

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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:
- ",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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
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.
- sammy461015@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: Steve Burroughs <buroughs826@gmail.com>
Reply-To: s4610155@aol.com
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2023 09:10:40 +0000
Subject: ATTN: BENEFICIARY

Attn: Beneficiary,

Information Disclosure Section.
Currently, the Federal Finance Agencies collectively hold more than
$378,000,000.00 in unclaimed & abandoned cash benefits. This fund came
from a variety of sources, including abandoned bank
accounts,inheritance fund, stock holdings, unclaimed life insurance
payouts and forgotten pension benefits.

Your fund was registered as an Abandoned Fund and it was redirected to
the Federal Treasury on 3rd January 2023. We are sending out this
message and we demand an urgent response from you since we are sorting
out funds. There are evident records showing and supporting the fact
that you did not abandon your fund. Due to this finding, we intend to
release your exact fund to you directly, so your urgent response is
required to cross-check your accounts details to where to wire your
fund.

Feel free to contact the Financial Records Management Mr.Michael Sammy
for further explanation;
Name: Michael Sammy
Email: sammy461015@aol.com

Regards,
Steve Burroughs

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam