419 scam: "Jason Butcher"<ani@kaisanet.net> I NEED YOUR HELP

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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)
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "% commission" (Beware of any scheme that involves depositing checks or money orders or receiving wire transfers in your bank account and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere, for a percentage of 5-15% of the total. Such offers are *always* fraudulent and you will be liable for the entire amount when the checks, money orders or wire transfers turn out to be fraudulent. Any money already forwarded comes out of *your* pocket then. )
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Jason Butcher" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sino.steel_corporation@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Fri, 4 Oct 2013 15:55:51 +0700
Subject: I NEED YOUR HELP

Dear Friend,

Naturally, this letter will come to you as a surprise since we have not met, permit me however to introduce myself; I am a white Zimbabwean Farmer, currently in hiding in Zimbabwe. I have funds worth ($18.5M) to invest in your country. I am contacting you as the need for me to have a foreign partner has become necessary due to my plans to relocate so that I can purchase some land and start farming all over again. If you are interested and willing to assist me (for a 15% commission), please contact me as soon as possible via my private Email:

I will give you more details when I hear from you. To verify the genuineness of my email, check the web page link below to get a better understanding of my situation and why I need to move out my money: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1068528.stm

Best Regards,
Jason Butcher

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam