419 scam: "Mr. X" <xx@yy> YOUR SPECIAL ATTENTION NEEDED

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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.

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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.
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. X" <xx@yy>
Reply-To: z.peter55@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2015 07:48:53 +0300
Subject: YOUR SPECIAL ATTENTION NEEDED

Good day,

I hope this will find you well.

It is my pleasure to ask if you could assist me receive US$27.7 M. This is legal and risk free. This amount in question belongs to my late client who shares the same last name as you. He passed away some years ago in a boat disaster. I was his personal banker. After several unsuccessful attempts to locate his possible relative I decided to contact you.

In view of this I therefore seek your consent to present you as inheritor to his funds. There are claim documents to enable you to file in and claim the funds legitimately, if you are willing to be presented in this proposal, please contact me with your names,Phone, cell\fax, age country. For more details on how to claim the funds.

Yours sincerely

Mr. Peter Zulu

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam