419 scam: "AHMED MOHAMMED"<ahmedmohammed203@hotmail.com> I NEED YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN THIS PROJECT.

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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)
- "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)
This email message is a "dying merchant" scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "AHMED MOHAMMED" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ahmedmohammed203@live.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:11:08 +0200
Subject: I NEED YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN THIS PROJECT.

Dear Friend,

My name is Ahmed Mohammed, I have been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, it has defiled all forms of medical treatments and according to medical experts, I only have about a few months to live.
I have decided to make a donation to charitable organizations, as I want this to be one of the last good deeds I have done on earth so far,
Now that my health has deteriorated so badly, I can not do this myself anymore.
I once asked members of my family to close one of my accounts and distribute the money to some charitable organization which they refused and kept the money to themselves, Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as they seem not to be satisfied with what I left for them.
The last of my money which no one knows about is a cash deposit of FOUR MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS (US$4,000,000.00) that I have in the vault of a finance company. I will want you to collect this fund on my behalf and dispatch it to charitable organizations of your choice. Upon your response, I will direct you on how to grab the beneficiary of the fund.
I await your quick response. For your time and honesty, I am willing to offer you 20% of the total fund, please get back to me if you are interested and honest to carry out this project on my behalf

May Allah be with you

Ahmed Mohammed.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam