419 scam: "Mr. Thomas Donnelly" <isisg8700@gmail.com> Let Discuss Confidential Business Investment.

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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:
- "offshore account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
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.
- investment4iinvestor@katamail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Thomas Donnelly" <isisg8700@gmail.com>
Reply-To: investment4iinvestor@katamail.com
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2015 23:00:19 -0700
Subject: Let Discuss Confidential Business Investment.

My name is Mr. Thomas Donnelly, A United Kingdom citizen, i based in
Syria (Damascus) for the past 17 years, but due to the current turn
off political events of which UN are trying to sort-out problems
there, During my years there, i have acquired investments through my
construction businesses and have many assets including gold,
properties and now disfunct projects.

I am protected under Bashar al-Assad's rule, but now i have been
targeted by the National Transition Council and all recordable assets
have been either seized or frozen. My businesses were legitimate, but
because of my relationship with the government sector and ministry of
finance, i have been targeted with no real reason other than my
success under this regime.
I do have funds in an offshore account, which has been undetected and
is not able to be seized by the NTC. However, it is also unable to be
accessed by either myself due to security reasons. My lawyer has
advised me to find a suitable person to transfer these funds into His
or Her name, of which they will then be compensated handsomely for
doing so. This is not an illegal act and is often done in such
situations. I understand the lack of real information of this email,
but due to so many scams and identity theft via the internet, I have
decided to keep most information until I am in personal contact with
you.

I am only asking for your help or even your advice on this matter. I
do not want anything from you and you are only to gain from being in
contact with me further. I am unable to trust anybody close to me and
so am taking this extreme chance that you may accept to help me in
anyway. Please if you are interested in helping me, reply with your
contact details so that I may be able to talk to you in confidence. I
will ask you for your full name and your contact details to do so.

I hope you are willing to hear my plight and aid me with this request.
I am desperate and am looking for any avenue to save these funds, as
that is all we have left. I await your response in hope. Please reply
to investment4iinvestor@katamail.com.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Thomas Donnelly.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam