419 scam: "Mr Alexander Andrew Flockhart" <tenerife@almeidaviajes.com> Dear Sir/madam,

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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "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)
- "confidential business" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "offshore 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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr Alexander Andrew Flockhart" <tenerife@almeidaviajes.com>
Reply-To: alexanderflockhart008@taodu.com
Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 05:17:01 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: Dear Sir/madam,

Dear Sir/madam,

I have a part-time business transaction for you and it would involve quite
a handful of trust and honesty. My name is Mr Alexander Andrew Flockhart, I'm
the Executive Director of Hang Seng Bank plc and the Chief Executive
Officer of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. I have a
business proposal in the tune of US$24,400,000.00 to be transferred to an
offshore account with your assistance, If willing. If you are interested,
kindly contact me via my personal email:
(alexanderflockhart008@taodu.com). Also do
send the below for confirmation;

(1) Full name:
(2) Current residential address/Country:
(3) Valid phone number:
(4) Occupation:
(5) Age and Sex:

Please take note that this is a confidential business and you shall be
entitled to 40% benefit. Kindly reply on time as this is an urgent matter,
please discard this message if you are not interested. Thanks for your
kind Understanding.

Kind Regards,
Mr Alexander Andrew Flockhart
Executive Director
Email: alexanderflockhart008@taodu.com

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam