419 scam: "Mr. KENNETH RICE" <william989899@gmail.com> GOOD DAY,

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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:
- "western union" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +22962528574 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. KENNETH RICE" <william989899@gmail.com>
Reply-To: "Mr. KENNETH RICE" <revjoseph6@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2015 03:21:39 +0900 (JST)
Subject: GOOD DAY,

GOOD DAY,

My name is (Mr. KENNETH RICE) from United States, 58 Years Old. My
residential address is as follows. 5424 Pent ridge Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 215-394-2342,, United States of America,
I am one of those people that took part in receiving Inheritance
funds, Western Union Winning Prize, and Lottery funds from African
banks and European banks even from many lottery organizers few years
ago and they refused to pay me, I had paid different fees or charges
of over $85,000 while in the USA trying to get my funds from those
banks and lottery organizers but all to no avail. So I decided to
travel to WASHINGTON D.C USA with all my payment approval documents,
and I was directed by the F.B.I. Director to contact a man called
REV JOSEPH, A BRITISH CITIZEN and a member of the UNITED NATIONS
ORGANIZATION (UNO) & INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDS (IMF) COMPENSATION
AWARD COMMITTEE currently staying in BENIN REPUBLIC. I contacted him
in NIGERIA and he explained everything to me.

REV JOSEPH personally directed me on how to successfully claim my
Inheritance and Lottery payment from the paying bank and right now I
am the happiest man on earth because I have now finally received my
funds totaling US$ 6 Million (Six Million U.S Dollars). Moreover Mr.
Jerry Dim, showed me the full information of those people that are yet
to receive their payments and I saw your name/your email address as
one of the beneficiaries and that is why I decided to email you to
stop dealing with those people because they are not with your funds
but they are only making money out of you. I will personally advise
you to contact REV JOSEPH in BENIN REPUBLIC immediately after reading
this message. You have to contact him directly on this information
below

Contact Person: REV JOSEPH.
Contact Address: Address25 St Michel Street Cotonou
Telephone Number: +22962528574

CLICK REPLY TO REPLY DIRECT TO REV,JOSEPH,

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam