419 scam: "Paul William"<paul_william2@email.com> Vital update

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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:
- ",500,000" (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)
- "i got your email address from " (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Paul William" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <paulwilliam99@googlemail.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 16:21:49 +0100
Subject: Vital update

Hello,

I am Mr. Paul William a senior auditor of the Barclay's Bank ,
England, I am writing you in respect to an account I discovered during
the first quarter auditing at the bank the account has been dormant
for 6 yrs and 2 months and the account is in your last name that
is the reason I have contacted.

I got your email address from a leads company in the USA. while
lookingup for the last name on his for file and found you.
Note: the sum in the account is 30,500,000.00
converted , the account is attached with an ATM card , which will be
issued to you if you can take possession of the account as a relative
of the account owner which is deceased, this is because you carry
same family name. I would appreciate if you could take possession of
these funds by providing an account in your country where the funds
can be transferred to avoid being confiscated by the Barclay's bank.
You would get a 60% compensation for your role after the successful
transfer.

I would make other vital details available to you upon your response
to this proposal. Please provide me with the information below for
confidential discussion on this:

Full name :
Address:
D.O.B:
Sex:
Tel :
Mob :
Occupation:

I will patiently await your reply in order to proceed with the transaction .

Thanks for your understanding and co-operation.

Best regards,
Mr. Paul William

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam