419 scam: Dear Friend <veruschka@telkomsa.net> Dear Friend

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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",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)
- "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)
- "robert mugabe" (the name of a person or institution often appearing 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.
- jamespieterson@webmail.co.za (Webmail, South Africa; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: Dear Friend <veruschka@telkomsa.net>
Reply-To: Dear Friend <jamespieterson@webmail.co.za>
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2018 14:53:49 +0200 (SAST)
Subject: Dear Friend

Dear Friend,

Naturally, this letter will come to you as a surprise since we have not met, permit me however to introduce myself; I am Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe, the wife of former Zimbabwean president Mr. Robert Mugabe.

Since my husband was ousted as the president of Zimbabwe I have been instructed by him to invest our wealth in various countries as we seek to integrate back into the society without power. As a result of this decision we have already invested heavily in United Arab Emirate (Dubai) and also in two other countries. We look forward to investing in many more societies hence I am contacting you to oversee all that we will be investing in your country.

Importantly, I want you to know that we are not under any investigation or any trouble, so our money is clean and associating with us will not come with any problems.

If you would want to represent us in your country to invest the sum of USD$22,000,000.00 we would want you to indicate your interest by contacting our lawyer who will be in charge of the transfer. Because of our high profile status in the world we cannot deal with you directly.

Kindly find below the contact details of our lawyer below:

Adv. James Pieterson
Email: jamespieterson@webmail.co.za

This transaction will forever change your life in a positive way if you accept to participate.

Best regards and God bless,

Mrs.Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam