419 scam: John Williams <walinnpc2014@gmail.com> 20/06/2018

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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.

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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million 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)
This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: John Williams <walinnpc2014@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mockwdrc@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2018 19:36:05 +0100
Subject: 20/06/2018

Dear Friend,

I am John Williams, the Auditor General, ABSA Bank, South-Africa . In
the course of my auditing, I discovered a floating fund in an account,
which was opened in 1990 at Abbey National Bank before it was bought
over by ABSA Group which I am the auditor belonging to dead Libya
President Moammar Gaddafi. Every effort made to track any member of
his family or next of kin has since failed; hence I got in contact
with you to stand as his next of kin wether you bear thesame name or
not.

About $49 million dollars is in this account, but my intention is to
transfer this sum of $10M in the aforementioned account to a safe
account overseas. I am therefore proposing that you quietly partner
with me and provide an account or set up a new one that will serve the
purpose of receiving this fund. For your assistance in this venture, I
am ready to part with a good percentage of the entire funds. After
going through the deceased person's records and files, I discovered
that:

(1) No one has operated this account since 1999

(2) The funds has no next of kin; hence the money has been floating.

(3) No other person knows about this account except Moammar Gaddafi.

If I do not remit this money urgently, it would be forfeited and
subsequently converted to company's funds, which will benefit only the
directors of my firm. This money can be approved to you legally as
with all the necessary documentary approvals in your name. However,
you would be required to show some proof of claim, which I will
provide you with and also guide you on how to make your applications.

Please do give me a reply so that I can send you detailed information
on the modalities of my proposition. I completely trust you to keep
this proposition absolutely confidential. Kindly forward your
telephone number where I can reach you easily. I look forward to your
prompt response.

Best Regards,

John Williams

Sorry if you receive this letter in your spam this is due to recent
connection error here.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam