419 scam: "Paul Theelen"<p.theelenns@gmail.com> Business Preposition from England

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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:
- ",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)
- "% will be for you" (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)
- "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Paul Theelen" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <p.theelenn@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2012 11:56:24 +0100
Subject: Business Preposition from England

Greetings to you,

My name is Paul Theelen and I work with a finance house here in England, UK. I came across you when I was searching for someone preferable in Europe that can be interested in a business proposal that I am putting forward.

During my company's last meeting and examination of the bank accounts within our company, my department found a dormant account with an enormous sum of US$ 6,500,000.00 (Six million five hundred thousand US dollar) which was deposited by a late Mr. Williams from England. Before his death he transferred the sum of US$ 6,500,000.00 (Six million five hundred thousand US dollar) to our bank. From our investigation he had no beneficiary or next of kin to claim these funds, thus because of our financial house regulations only a foreigner can stand as next relatives or next of kin. The request of a foreigner as a next of kin is based on the fact that the depositor was a foreigner and somebody in England cannot stand as the next of kin.

I need your permission to stand as a relative or next of kin of our deceased customer, so that the funds can be released and transferred to your bank account in your country. At the end of the transaction 40% will be for you and 60% will be for me and my colleagues. I still work at the financial house and that's the actual reason that I need a second party or person to stand & work with me in order to apply to the bank here as the next of kin. I have in my possession all the necessary documents to have this transaction carried out successfully.

Further information will be provided upon the receipt of your prompt response and I want you to know that there is no risk involved. I will need us to work together if you are interested and I assure you that I will provide all useful information and documentation as this business needs urgent attention as there is no much time to waste.

Kindly reply me with your private email (for confidential reasons) and telephone number so I can give you more details and explain the procedures of the proposal to you.

Thanks and regards,
Paul Theelen

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam