419 scam: "DR. CHRIS SMITH" <natwestdr.chrissmith@yahoo.co.uk> UNCLAIMED FUND

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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million 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)
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.
- +447024027413 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "DR. CHRIS SMITH" <natwestdr.chrissmith@yahoo.co.uk>
Reply-To: csmithlord@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:06:00 +0600
Subject: UNCLAIMED FUND

From The Desk Of: DR. CHRIS SMITH
NATWEST BANK LONDON,ENGLAND
PUTNEY BRANCH, 153 PUTNEY HIGH STREET.
LONDON SW15 1RX
UNITED KINGDOM

Dearest Friend.

My Name is Dr Chris Smith From Harlsden, North West London here in England.

I work for Natwest Bank London. I am writing following an opportunity in my office that will be of an imense benefit to both of us. In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of $12.5 million USA Dollars (Twelve million five hundred thousand Usa Dollars) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customers Late Mr. Morris Thompson an American who unfortunately lost his life in the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 which crashed on January 1st 2000, including his wife and only daughter.
You shall read more about the crash on visiting this site. : You shall read more about the crash on visiting this site. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0002/01/bn.02.html
The choice of contacting you is aroused from the geographical nature of where
you live, particularly due to the sensivity of the transaction and the confidentiality herein.
Now our bank has been waiting for any of the relatives to come-up for the
claim but nobody has done that.

I personally have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for 2 years now, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin / Will Beneficiary to the deceased so that the proceeds of this account valued at 12.5Million Dollars can be paid to you. This will be disbursed or shared in these percentages, 60% to me and 40% to you. All I require now is your honest Co-operation, Confidentiality and Trust to enable us see this transaction through. I guarantee you that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.

Please, provide me the following: as we have seven (7) days to run it through. This is very URGENT PLEASE. Kindly send the details below

1. Full Name
2. Marital Status
2. Your Telephone Number
3. Your Contact Address.
4. Your Occupation.
5. Your Age.

Your urgent response will be highly appreciated.

Best regards,

DR. CHRIS SMITH
+44-7024027413

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam