419 scam: "Mrs. Wendy Appelbaum"<admin@SLAPPO.NET> Important Message

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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:
- ",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)
- "robert mugabe" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Wendy Appelbaum" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <b.c.p.c@clix.pt>
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2014 02:29:41 +0200
Subject: Important Message

Sir/Madam,

I'm Mrs. Wendy Appelbaum, wife of Dr. Alex J Appelbaum, My husband was a farmer in Zimbabwe; he was killed by the ruling party of President Robert Mugabe, because he was against the method adopted by the government. My husband took me to USA where a deposit of US$15,000,000.00 was made with a security company. I'm residing in SANTA CRUZ, USA and can't invest this money here in USA. I shall be grateful if you can help me. I will offer you 5% of the total sum, the balance I intended to invest; I will appreciate if you call me or my son Mart on +1-831-480-2322, ensures to maintain the confidentiality of this matter because of the happenings in Zimbabwe.

Yours Faithfully,

Mrs. Wendy Appelbaum.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam