419 scam: "Will Bowen" <willbowen@barclayswealth.com> ATTENTION!

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:
- "hundred thousand united state 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)
- "utmost confidentiality" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "willbowen@msn.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a next of kin scam.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +447035970919 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
- +447708801954

Fraud email example:

From: "Will Bowen" <willbowen@barclayswealth.com>
Reply-To: willbowen@msn.com
Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2010 00:38:32 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: ATTENTION!

MR. WILL BOWEN
BARCLAYS WEALTH INTERNATIONAL BANK
59 GROSVENOR STREET
LONDON W1K 3JD
MOBILE: +44 770 880 1954
LAND LINE: +44 703 597 0919
FAX: 44 844 774 3999
Website: http://www.barclayswealth.com/

Let me start by introducing myself. I am Mr Will Bowen director of
operations of the Hang

Seng Bank Ltd in Hong Kong.I have an obscured business suggestion for you.
Before the U.S

and Iraqi war one of our client Colonel Sadiq Uday who was with the Iraqi
forces and also

businessman made a numbered fixed deposit for 18 calendar months, with a
value of twenty

four millions five hundred thousand United State Dollars only in my branch.

Upon maturity several notices was sent to him, even during the war which
began in 2003.

Again after the war another notification was sent and still no response
came from him. We

later find out that the Colonel along with his wife and only daughter had
been killed

during the war in a bomb blast that hit their home.

After further investigation it was also discovered that Colonel Sadiq Uday
did not

declare any next of kin in his official papers including the paper work of
his bank

deposit. And he also confided in me the last time he was at my office that
no one except

me knew of his deposit in my bank. So, One hundred and twenty five
million, seven hundred

and fifty thousand U.S dollars is still lying in my bank and no one will
ever come

forward to claim it.

When I discovered he and his family is dead i had to look for a very
reliable person who

can stand as the Next of kin to that funds , so that the funds will be
transfered out of

the bank immediately. What bothers me most is that according to the laws
of my country at

the expiration 5 years the funds will revert to the ownership of the Hong
Kong Government

if nobody applies to claim the funds.

Please treat this business with utmost confidentiality and send me the
following.

(1)Full names, (2)Private Phone number (3)Current residential address,
(4)Occupation (5)

Age and Proffession.

Therefore , if you know you are capable of involving in this mouth
watering transaction,

please send me an email to my Private email below, so that i will give you
more details

about this transaction and how we will successfully carry out this
transaction without

any risk involved.

Mr Will Bowen.
Email: willbowen@msn.com

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AND RESPOND

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam