419 scam: Attorney John BILLY <officeweboo@yahoo.pt> Read This Email Very Well

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:

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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million 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)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a next of kin scam.
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.
- attorneyjb13@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Attorney John BILLY <officeweboo@yahoo.pt>
Reply-To: Attorney John BILLY <attorneyjb13@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 06:34:52 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Read This Email Very Well

Â
Read This Email Very Well

Dear Friend

I am Attorney John BILLY, I have decided to bestow this trust on you, which I pray you will not ignore or betray. I apologize in advance for any inconveniences this may cause you. I am the Personal Attorney to late Engineer. P. B. Corcoran, who was a contractor here in Benin Republic. He died with his entire family were perished in Air-Crash on board from Cotonou. View the below site for more information.Â http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3348109.stm

As a matter of fact, My client made a fixed deposit Amount, valued at ($18.5m) million dollars with Institution here in Benin Rep, upon the duration time of their agreement, His Bank started contacting him but no response consequently, the bank issued me a notice to provide the next of kin to the deceased as his personal attorney, or have his account confiscated after ten years, as it is in the law of this country.

Since then, I have made several contacts to his countries embassy in order to locate any of my clients extended relatives, which had also been unsuccessful. Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over two years now, I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since none of his relatives were no way to be found so that the proceeds of this account valued at $18.5 million dollars. Could be transferred into your account, thereafter, we will both share it in percentage according to our contributions to boost the success of this great transaction.

I have all the necessary informationâ€™s that can be used to back up the claims from the bank where the fund was deposited by the deceased. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us making this great benefiting transaction successfully.

I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. And the way we are going to achieve this. I will need the following information from you,

Your Full Name and Address, Your Age, Occupation and Position,
Your Telephone and Mobile for Communication Purpose. For privacy reply to my
private Email:Â attorneyjb13@gmail.com

I await your reply ASAP.

Best Regards,
Attorney John BILLY

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam