419 scam: "Russell Cooke"<masters@gtmc.com.cn> Russell Cooke

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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:
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Russell Cooke" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <rc19691@outlook.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Jun 2016 01:18:55 +0200
Subject: Russell Cooke

Dear sir ,

Please do accept my apologies. I do not wish to invade your privacy, I had written an earlier email to you, but

without a response, In my first email, I mentioned to you about my late client Mr. Bruno.Since his death I have received several notifications from his Bank where he made a time deposit of ($7,500,000.00) before his death.The bank has asked me to provide his next of kin or any of his dependent relatives who can make claim to his funds for payment or it will be confiscated by the government.Since I could not locate any of his relatives,I have to contacted you for this claim since you are trust worthy and serious.

Upon your response to me, I would give you the details and procedures for collecting the funds smoothly.

Thank you sir for your time.

Yours sincerely,

Russell Cooke (Q.C).

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam