419 scam: "Graham Harris"<harris@aol.jp> I NEED YOUR URGENT RESPOND.....

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:
- "any lucrative business in your country" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "% will be for you" (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)
- "with absolute secrecy" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "harrisgraham4@ymail.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Graham Harris" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <harrisgraham13@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 09:32:19 -0700
Subject: I NEED YOUR URGENT RESPOND.....

Standard Chartered Bank
1 Basinghall Avenue, London
EC2V 5DD, United Kingdom
Email: harrisgraham4@ymail.com
Prepared by: Graham Harris
[ Senior Auditor]
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

I apologize if the contents hereunder are contrary to your moral ethics, but please treat it with absolute secrecy and personal courtesy. I am Mr. Graham Harris an auditor with the Standard Chartered Bank here in London UK, in the process of auditing our bank accounts for the first quarter of the year, I recently discovered that there was a dormant account valued at the sum 58,500,000.00 (Fifty Eight Million, five hundred thousand British Pounds Sterling only) and after due verification of this account I discovered that the account owner who was a Gold merchant Mr. George Lee was late. That is why the account has been dormant and as such the funds are lying unclaimed in the bank. On a further investigation I discovered that the late customer died in an auto crash along side with all his entire family his wife and two children.

The idea of presenting a foreigner to act as his next of kin came into my mind so as to have the total sum of 58,500,000.00 Pounds transferred and willed to you due to the fact that the deceased is national of your country , and also the bank has given a notification to forward the next of kin to claim the fund or the fund will be confiscated as an unclaimed deposit .

In view of this, I am personally seeking for your co-operation and understanding to stand as the next of kin to the deceased customer, to enable us claim the funds from my bank. Hence we can not locate the real next of kin to the deceased customer , if this proposal is OK by you and you do not wish to take undue advantage of my trust, kindly get back to me immediately, strictly via my private email address above to enable me enlighten you on how we are to proceed. Do not worry I am here as an insider to protect and guide you on how we should go and also how to secure all the legal needed papers in your name to champion this course.

I will appreciate if the details below are confirmed back to me in your next email in order for me to prepare the (MOU), MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING that both of us will endorse in other for both parties to be protected.

FULL NAME:………………………………….
PHONE NUMBER (S) / DIRECT MOBLI LINE……………………..
SEX/AGE:…………………………………………..
NATIONALITY:…………………………………

OCCUPATION/ PROFESSION:……………AND POSITION…………

On getting your response with the above details, The ratio shall be 50% for ME while 50% will be for YOU. I also intend to invest part of my own share in real estate or any lucrative business in your country, and I would appreciate if you can put me in the right part where I can invest my own share.
Be rest assured that this business is 100% risk free. Pls. keep this business absolutely confidential within yourself alone.
I wait for your prompt response.

Sincerely,
Graham Harris

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam