419 scam: "Thomas James"<thomas.james.sr.4.charity@mail.com> Greetings

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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:
- "i will like you to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "trunk box" (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)
- "trunk boxes" (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)
- "hundred thousand united states 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)
- "reward you with 30%" (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 "dying merchant" scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Thomas James"<thomas.james.sr.4.charity@mail.com>
Reply-To: <thomas.james.sr.4.charity@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2015 09:31:39 -0600
Subject: Greetings

Greetings,

May this note find you in good health and high vibration, Thomas James is my name, a British/ Portuguese national. I have been diagnosed with Oesophageal cancer which has defiled all forms of medical treatment. I have only about a few months to live. I presently have cash worth $8.5M (Eight Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) in two trunk boxes deposited with an UNDISCLOSED (for security reasons security vault company base in Europe. I want to solicit with you to assist me in claiming these trunk boxes. I am ready to reward you with 30% of the total amount for your honestly, while the rest funds goes to a Charity.
I have decided to give part of my fortunes to a charity organization. I cannot do this myself anymore because of my health.
At a point in time, I had once asked members of my family to assist me with my wishes, at the end of the day; they refused and kept most of the money to themselves.
I will like you to acknowledge the receipt of this e-mail as soon as possible and treats with absolute confidentiality and sincerity.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Thomas James

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam