419 scam: "Mrs.Felicia Jones" <atg15@my.fsu.edu> A Honest Person Urgently 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.

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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "my names are " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "offshore account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: feliciaameliajones1947@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2017 21:19:10 -0400
Subject: A Honest Person Urgently Needed

Dear Sir/madam
My names are Mrs. Felicia Amelia jones, I am 70 years old. I am a dying woman who was diagnosed of Lungs and Brain cancers years ago . I have decided to donate all I have to the Less privileged, Motherless , Churches and towards the eradication of hunger.
Without much ado , I am looking for a God fearing man/woman, who would help me accomplish my dreams and desires. I have had a successful career, being one of the biggest shareholders in Dana Gas, Dubai. I also inherited my late parents and husband. Sadly , i have no child to inherit me. I have trusted family members to help achieve my dreams.But, greed is the biggest enemy of man. God guided Dr. Abdul the right path and he revealed to me the plans of my family members. Hence, i was relocated to Palm Harbor,Florida. where none of my family members knows i own a House .
Conclusively, i have $20,000,0000.00 in an offshore account in Canada and i hope you will help achieve my dreams and purpose . God have directed me to use this medium and i am sure he will use you to help achieve my dream. I need your honesty and loyalty in all ramifications and i am happy to give you 20% of this sum. But , i want the 80% used legitimately for the campaign . If you so wish, you are free to come pay me a visit here in Florida. Before we proceed.If not , I will love you to provide me with some basic details about you for vetting purpose. I will love to know if you can help me achieve this and I hope you have the fear of God in you .
Your sister in Christ,
Mrs. Felicia Amelia Jones .

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam