419 scam: "Mrs. Carlow Petrov." <carlow.petrov897@aol.com> Dear Friend

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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "huge deposit" (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)
- "million united states dollars" (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)
- "here in united kingdom" (this email uses bad English)
This email message is a "dying widow" scam.
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.
- +447024072154 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
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.
- alexmoore_law@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Carlow Petrov." <carlow.petrov897@aol.com>
Reply-To: <carlowpetrov@yahoo.es>
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2012 00:05:58 -0700
Subject: Dear Friend

Dear Friend,

Good day to you and your family, My Name is Mrs. Carlow Petrov, I am married to late Dr. Yuri Petrov who was an Oil Merchant and international businessman before he died in year 2007 after a brief illness.

We were married for 16 years without any children, so members of my late husband's family made life so miserable for me because I was unable to give my husband child before his untimely death.

When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of ($18,000,000.00 USD) Eighteen Million United States Dollars Only, with a Security/Finance Company here in United Kingdom, in my name but for security reasons, I shall name withhold the name of the Finance/Security Company until we open up proper communication, but this money is still there till date.

Following my ill health, my Doctor told me that I may not last for the next couple of months due to my cancer problem. The one that disturbs me most is my inability to move around and having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to you as my next of kin for charity works.

I cannot disclose this information to any member of husbands family because of their wicked heart and selfish ambition. They have succeeded in claiming all the properties of my late husband accept for this huge deposit and that is because they don't know about it.

It will interest you to note that before the death of my husband, he made me promise him to use the fund he deposited with the Finance/Security Company for charity works but due to my health condition, I have not been able to carry out this task, hence, I decided to contact you and donate the fund to you to enable you carry out this task on my behalf, so that my late husband's dream can be fulfilled.

If this proposal is acceptable to you, please contact my lawyer Mr. Alex Moore, for more details via this email: Email: alexmoore_law@yahoo.co.uk and or Tel: +44 7024072154 for more details.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Best regards,

Mrs. Carlow Petrov.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam