419 scam: "Mrs Ruth Madoff" <ruthmadoff@yahoo.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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million 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)
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs Ruth Madoff" <ruthmadoff@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: ruthmadoff@w.cn
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:24:09 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Hello!

Dear Friend ,

I am Mrs.Ruth Madoff, wife of bernard madoff.

I am actually going through some kind of difficult time with my family
right now, as my husband is at the jail right now in New York City.
My husband was sentenced on Monday 29th for 150 years, and he is likely to
face a maximum sentence of 150 years in prison and $170 billion in
restitution, so there is need for me to move out a lot of my personal
funds and personal belongings around the world , particularly from
outside America, but i need somebody to trust now, because i cannot
receive funds here in America right now.

I would need your help in acquiring some properties and keeping some large
cash amount for me. but first i would prefer to communicate via email.

This is very urgent, i would have to entrust a large amount of money into
your hands and some personal valuables(2.1 Billion dollars, Gold and
Diamond worth 310 Million Dollars). But this would have to be very
confidential, just between me and you, because the press are after me
and my husband name all over the headlines, because of his Wall street
business.

Anyway! don't be scared about the risk, it is a very safe deal i can
assure you of your confidentiality.

Yours Sincerely
Mrs. Ruth Alpern Madoff
Email Contact: ruthmadoff@w.cn

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam