419 scam: "Adrian" <forlifebemestar@visabeiraturismo.com> Congratulations

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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:
- "with your full names" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
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.
- mr.adrianbayford@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Adrian" <forlifebemestar@visabeiraturismo.com>
Reply-To: <mr.adrianbayford@aim.com>
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2015 00:02:16 +0100
Subject: Congratulations

Dear recipient,

This is an official message directed to you. After much thought and consideration for a while i have decided to share my wealth and I have voluntarily decided to donate the sum of 800,000 GBP (Eight Hundred Thousand Pounds) as part of our won prize to you. This Donation is meant for you to handle charity projects in your locality.

Note: Your email address was found from our countries international web directory and if you have received this message, it means you are one among the lucky recipients, and all you need to do, is to get back to me via my personal email: mr.adrianbayford@aim.com with your full names, contact address and direct telephone number for verification. You can read about our EuroMillions jackpot winning in the news from the web page for further information;
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2314643/Couple-scooped-148m-Euromillions-jackpot-receive-40-begging-letters-week-admit-read-dont-ask-dont-get.html

Congratulations & Happy Celebrations in Advance.
Sincerely,
Gillian and Adrian Bayfordâ€‹

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam