419 scam: "Elvis Richards"<elvrichards@gmail.com> Let me start by introducing myself.

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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "money laundering" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
- "million british pounds" (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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "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)
This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Elvis Richards" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <elvrichards@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:40:16 +0100
Subject: Let me start by introducing myself.

Dear Friend,

Let me start by introducing myself. I am Mr. Elvis Richards, In charge of Credit and Foreign bills of my Bank, Bank of Scotland(UK) PLC. I have an obscured business suggestion for you. One of our accounts with a holding balance of Money Valued at £15,000,000.00 GBP (Fifteen Million British pounds) has been dormant and has not been operated for the past six years.

>From my investigations and confirmations, the owner of this account Mr.Kurt Kahle a citizen of Germany who perished in a plane crash [Concorde Air Flight AF4590] with the whole passengers aboard on 31 July2000. And for your perusal you can view this web site:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm and since then nobody has done anything as regards the claiming of this money because he has no family members who are aware of the existence of the account nor the funds.

Also Information from the National Immigration stated that he was also single on entry into United Kingdom.

I have secretly discussed this matter with some of the bank officials and we agreed to find a reliable foreign partner to deal with. In fact we could have done this deal alone but because of our position in this country as civil servants,we are not allowed to operate a foreign account and that would eventually raise an eye brows on our side during the time of
transfer since we still work in this bank, this is the actual reason why we required a second party or fellow who will assist us forward claims as the next of kin with informations which will be made available to you.

This transaction is totally risk and trouble free as the fund is legitimate and does not originate from drugs, money laundering, terrorism or any other illegal act.

The sharing of the fund between us, is as follows; 40% of the total sum will go to you for your effort and commitment to the success of this transaction. 60% for me and my colleague's.

I will like to live permanently in your Country and Invest my share in any profitable venture, preferably Real Estates. Your advice and guidelines will be appreciated in this regard.

Best Regards,

Mr. Elvis Richards.
http://www.bankofscotland.co.uk

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam