419 scam: "Barrister Isa Adamu"<misiag@aster.pl> READ THIS BUSINESS IDEAL

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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 sum 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)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
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.
- adamu_isa@rediffmail.com (Rediffmail, India; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Barrister Isa Adamu" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <adamu_isa@rediffmail.com>
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1999 10:37:05 -0800
Subject: READ THIS BUSINESS IDEAL

HELLO,

MY NAME IS BARRISTER ISA ADAMU, I AM A SOLICITOR AT A LAW FIRM IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, I AM WRITING TO YOU ON BEHALF OF ONE OF MY CLIENT WHO JUST PASS AWAY, HE DIED LAST THREE MONTHS AGO TWO MONTHS BEFORE THEN HE LPST HE ENTIRE FAMILY ON A GASLY MOTOR ACCIDENT AND THAT LED TO HIM HAVING A COMMA AT A HOSPITAL IN THE UK, AFTER HE GAIN CONSCIOUSNESS, HE SEND FOR ME BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN HIS LAWYER FOR OVER 25 YEARS AND HE TRUST ME, HE GAVE ME ALL HIS TRANSACTION AND TOLD ME WHAT TO DO WITH ALL OF THEM AND I ACTED ACCORDINGLY, AFTER THAT HE GAVE ME A CERTIFICATE OF A HUGE SUM OF MONEY HE DEPOSITED WITH A BANK IN THE UK AND TOLD ME THAT IF ANYTHING SHOULD HAPPEN TO HIM I SHOULD CLAIM THE MONEY AND USE IT FOR CHARITABLE WORK, SINCE HE HAS LOST ALL HIS FAMILY AND TWO WEEKS LATER HE DIED.

THE AMOUNT OF THE MONEY IS 40MILLION GREAT BRITAIN POUNDS DEPOSITED WITH A BANK I WILL LET YOU KNOW LATER.

I AM DOWN NOW WITH A SICKNESS AND I CAN NO LONGER CARRY ON WITH THIS TASK THAT HE HAS GIVEN ME SO I WILL WANT YOU TO HELP ME OUT, I WILL GIVE YOU 30% OUT OF THE TOTAL MONEY AND 5% FOR ANY EXPENSES YOU MAY INCURE IN CURSE OF GETTING THE FUNDS TRANFERRED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT, AND THE REMAINING 60% FOR THE CHARITABLE WORK.

IF YOU ARE READY TO HELP ME GET BACK TO ME FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND EXPLANATION.

I WILL BE WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU SHORTLY, REPLY TO MY EMAIL BELOW.

REGARDS,
BARR. ISA ADAMU
E-MAIL: adamu_isa@rediffmail.com

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam