419 scam: " Mr.John Willson" <revjohnwillson@gmail.com> Good-Day 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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "hundred thousand great british pounds" (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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- john_willson@linuxmail.org (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: " Mr.John Willson" <revjohnwillson@gmail.com>
Reply-To: john_willson@linuxmail.org
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 17:46:23 +0100
Subject: Good-Day Friend

Good-Day Friend,

Pardon me if this comes to you as a surprise because we have not met
before. I pulled out the trust and courage to look for a trustworthy
and sincere person like you who will be competent for this transaction
believing that you will never let me down either now or in the future.

My Name is Mr. John willson, I work with Bank of England; there is
the sum of GBP 20,600,000.00 (Twenty Million, Six Hundred Thousand
Great British Pounds) in my bank, there were no beneficiary avowed
relating to these funds which means no individual would ever come
frontward to claim it.

My motive of contacting you is for us to work together in relocating
this funds out from my bank into your bank account or any other
account of your choice. As soon as the funds are relocated to your
selected option (bank account) we shall then share in the ratio of 60%
for me, 40% for you. If interested and equipped to do this business
with me, revert back to me for more details.E-mail
(john_willson@linuxmail.org)

I look forward to hear from you in the earliest.

Best Regards,
Mr. John willson

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam