419 scam: "Mr.Patrick Joseph" <mrpatricko8@gmail.com> This Message Is Respectfully Yours

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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 us 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)
- "confidential business" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr.Patrick Joseph" <mrpatricko8@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrpatrickjos8@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 03:11:45 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: This Message Is Respectfully Yours

The Director incharge of Head of Operations Development
Africa Development Bank, Ouagadougou Burkina Faso.

Dear Friend,

I am Mr.Patrick Joseph, I work as the Director incharge of Head of Operations with this Africa Development Bank of (ADB) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Although the world is very small place and hard place to meet people because you don't know who to trust or believe, but as I have developed the trust in you after my fasting and praying, i made up my mind to confide this confidential business suggestion to you.

There is an over due unclaimed sum of USD$16.5million US dollars in my bank, belonging to one of our dead foreign customers. There were no beneficiaries stated concerning these funds. Therefore, your request as a foreigner is necessary to apply for the claim and release of the fund smoothly into your reliable bank account as the Foreign Business Partner to the deceased.

On the transfer of this fund in your account, you will take 40% as your share from the total fund, 5% will be shared to Charitable Organizations while Motherless Babies homes, disabled helpless as the balance of 55% will be for me.

If you are really sure of your integrity, trustworthy, and confidentiality, reply urgently and to prove that, include your particulars as follows. please fill in your personal informations as indicated below and as soon as i receive this information's below i will forward you a text of an application which you will fill and send
to the bank for the claim of the fund as i will direct you on what to do.

Your full name .......................... .......
Your country....................... ...............
Your age...........................................
Your cell phone......................... ..........
Your occupation.................... ...............
Your sex........................... ...............

Thanks,
Mr.Patrick Joseph.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam