419 scam: Mark Thomson <thomsonmark11@writethomson2016.onmicrosoft.com> Urgent & Confidential

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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:
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Mark Thomson <thomsonmark11@writethomson2016.onmicrosoft.com>
Reply-To: <m.a.thomson@live.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2016 20:14:21 +0100
Subject: Urgent & Confidential

Hello,

My name is Mark Thomson, presiding attorney with Atkins Thomson Law Chamber, located in London, United Kingdom,
I have decided to contact you through this medium with a transaction proposal.
My late client late Engr. Claire C. Barerra (Member of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) died August 2013 from cancer,
she had a time fixed deposit account with the bank which had no next of kin declaration,
the bank has notified my office to handle this issue, because i was the legal representative to the deceased. Therefore,
I have contacted you today to partner with me to claim this money from the fixed account. The amount is $5,3 million
and the account is dormant for now.

I will appreciate if you could partner with me to claim this money, we would share it 40% for you and 40% for me,
the balance 20% will be used to pay off all our
expenses and make donations to charity organizations to help the poor and refugees.
Bear in mind this transaction is 100% risk free and safe,
Waiting for your kind/positive response,

Mark Thomson

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam