419 scam: "BARRISTER JAMES SMITH"<dreamholdings@sbcglobal.net> GET BACK FOR MORE DETAILS

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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:

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:
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
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.
- +2348065785365 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- barristerjamessmith1315@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "BARRISTER JAMES SMITH" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <barristerjamessmith1315@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2011 08:16:00 -0700
Subject: GET BACK FOR MORE DETAILS

Attention,

Please kindly accept my apology for sending unsolicited mail to you. I believe you are a highly respected personality, considering the fact that I sourced your profile from a human resource profile database in your country. Though, I do not know to what extent you are familiar with events.

I am Barrister James Smith (ESQ),I have a vital information about an unclaimed fund under my custody. Please get back to me with your complete data if interested, as i shall provide to you all necessary claim documents of this fund. Please feel free to contact me for more details, you can reach me on my direct phone number at 234-8065785365, Email reply to barristerjamessmith1315@gmail.com
Yours sincerely,

Barr. James Smith (ESQ),

For: Principal Attorney

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam