419 scam: "Philippe TM"<walkeroxdonald@fastwebmail.it> THIS IS MY LAST DESIRE

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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:
- "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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
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.
- walkeroxd@citromail.hu (Citromail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Philippe TM" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <walkerdonaldo@fastwebmail.it>
Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2010 11:32:19 -0700
Subject: THIS IS MY LAST DESIRE

New Page 1
My Dearest, God be with you. Please don’t be offended. I got this your Email i.d from your country's guest book. Am Mrs. Philippe Terri MiBet from France, 61 yrs, a widow with No child with my late husband who died 3 Yrs Ago. Am suffering from a Long time Cancer of the Breast that affected my Lung/Liver, As my doctors confirmed that I've less dawn two months to live on this earth. I've WILLED my remaining balance of US$6,370,216.00 in my Dormant Account with Woolwich Bank London to you for benevolence Works of God Especially for Cancer patients, Orphanages/Motherless Babies home where I was raised and for yourself. Reach me now only on ( Email:walkeroxd@citromail.hu ) for more detail/ With love from Mrs. Philippe T.M.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam