419 scam: "Mr. Samuel Williams" <samuelwiliams61@yahoo.com> URGENT

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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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)
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "might come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
This email message is a "dying merchant" scam.
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.
- samuelwiliams60@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Samuel Williams" <samuelwiliams61@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: samuelwiliams60@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 10:34:26 +0100
Subject: URGENT

Dear Friend,

Greetings to you in the name of our heavenly God.
This mail might come to you as a surprise and the temptation to ignore it
as unserious could come into your mind, but Please, consider it as a
Divine Wish and accept it with a deep sense of humility.My Name is Mr.
Samuel Williams; I'm a 55 years old man, living in United Kingdom, though an
Portugal, I have been diagnosed with Cancer.It has defiled all forms of
Medical Treatment, and right now I have only about a few Weeks to live,
according to medical experts.

I have not particularly lived my life so well, as I never really cared
for anyone (Not Even Myself) but my Business.Though I am very rich, I was
never generous, I was always hostile to people and only focused on my
business as that was the only thing I cared

But now I regret all this as I now know that there is more to live than
just wanting to have or make all the money in the world. I believe when
God gives me a second chance to come to this world I would live my life a
different way from how I have lived it. I would want to have a Personal
and Trustworthy Relationship with you, but now my health is no fine.

Before I became ill, I kept $ 18.5 Million in a long-term deposit account
in a SECURITY/FINANCE COMPANY. Presently, I'm in a hospital where I have
been undergoing treatment for Esophageal Cancer. Since I lost my ability
to talk and my Doctors have told me that I have only a few weeks to live.
It is my last wish to see this money distributed to charity organizations.
Because relatives and friends have plundered so much of my wealth since my
illness, I cannot live with the agony of entrusting this huge
responsibility to any of them. I will like you to reply me with your Full
contact information's to enable us proceed.
Thank you for your understanding
Mr. Samuel Williams:EMAIL:samuelwiliams60@yahoo.com

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam