419 scam: Wilkins Ray <wilkinsray77@msn.com> ATTENTION PLEASE:

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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:
- "huge amount of money" (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)
- "the consignment" (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.

Fraud email example:

From: Wilkins Ray <wilkinsray77@msn.com>
Reply-To: <info.wilkinsray01@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:51:27 +0000
Subject: ATTENTION PLEASE:

Sir/Madam,

We are team (THREE IN NUMBER) of American troops writing from Baghdad , Iraq ,

we are urgently seeking for your willingness to secure the below consignment.
The goods consist of huge amount of money in sealed boxes.

At this moment, we have already ship these goods (money) outside Iraq for
safekeeping through a very strong security company but due to law and
restriction order we are unable to transport the goods to America ; the security
company now shipped it to GERMANY for safety in their vault warehouse. That is the reason we are soliciting for your interest to assist us in receiving the
goods on our behalf. Out of the US$29.5 million in cash, we are only ready to
relinquish US$5.5 million to you if you can assist us secure this money in your
country or any safe place.

We will appreciate your effort to reach us through email confirming your
interest to our proposal. As soon as we receive your positive reply we will give
you the contact of the trusted security company as the owner of the
consignments.

The only telephone access we have is radio message which is for our general use
and is being monitored therefore all communication will be via email till we
finish our assignment here and fly straight to your country to meet you. Thank
God that the new President ? Elect, Barack Obama whose keen interest is call us
back home soon.

Yours truly,

SGT.Wilkins Ray and Team
Baghdad , Iraq,

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam