419 scam: c o Toyin <gracewood667@gmail.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:

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)
- "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
This email message is a next of kin scam.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
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.
- +22899676287 (Togo, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: c o Toyin <gracewood667@gmail.com>
Reply-To: pinheriosan@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 16:08:24 +0100
Subject: Dear Friend,

Dear Friend,

Please excuse me if I interfere into your privacy in this manner, I am
Barrister c.o Toyin , a solicitor at law and family attorney to a
late client a citizen of your country who lives and work in Togo
for many years before he died in a fatal car accident alongside his
family while visiting a neighboring country on vacation.
Ever since then as their family attorney, I have done everything
possible to trace the relatives of my late client without any luck.

Most of his properties here are either vandalized by hoodlums or
confiscated by the government. It's upon this that I decided to contact you
in order to assist me in putting claims to the fund valued "US$8.5M" that
he left behind for the mutual benefit of you and I before it's confiscated
by the finance firm. I can assure you that there is no risk involved as
everything is legal with documentation.

With this information's, I will proceed in submitting your name to the
finance firm where this fund was deposited thereby presenting you as the
SOLE next of kin to my late client for the subsequent
release of the deposit to you in line with their routine process.
Kindly get back to me for more details and clarifications,
I wait on your swift response as time
is of essence if we wish to succeed in this venture.
You may also reach me on this number +228-9967-6287 for more discussion.

Barrister c.o Toyin

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam