419 scam: Hans Thoma <hans.thoma01@gmail.com> Very Important

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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)
- "discussion of this transaction in further details" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
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.
- amshdt12@yahoo.com (Yahoo; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: Hans Thoma <hans.thoma01@gmail.com>
Reply-To: amshdt12@yahoo.com
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 04:55:20 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Very Important

DEAR FRIEND,
Good Day.

My Name is Hans Thoma , I am a Banker by profession.However, my reason for contacting you is to transfer an abandoned S$42,759,000.00 {Forty Two Million seven hundred an fifty Nine Thousand US Dollars only} to your foreign account.

This money has been unclaimed since 13 years in our Bank. Bank UBS AG Switzerland,Postfach 8098 Zurich ,Switzerland.Postal Account: 80-2-2 SWIFT: UBSW CH ZH 80A , <www.ubs.com>

If you are interested kindly get back to me with your full informationâ€™s for the tranfer to your accpunt.
Look forward to discuss this opportunity further with you in detail. Please email me back on this mail address: <amshdt12@yahoo.com> Or provide me with your phone number for discussion of this transaction in further details.

Thank you for your time and attention.
Regards,
Hans Thoma.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam