419 scam: Mr John Thomas <wmt@exemail.com.au> Best regards!

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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)
- "chambers" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Mr John Thomas <wmt@exemail.com.au>
Reply-To: johnthomaskofi46@yahoo.com
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2019 07:35:58 -0400
Subject: Best regards!

Best regards!

This mail may be a surprise to you because you did not give me the
permission to do so and neither do you know me but before I tell you
about myself I want you to please forgive me for sending this mail
without your permission. I am writing this letter in confidence
believing that if it is the will of God for you to help me and my
family, God almighty will bless and reward you abundantly. I need an
honest and trust worthy person like you to entrust this huge transfer
project unto.

My name is Mr John Thomas, The Branch Manager of a Financial
Institution. I got your Contact through Chambers & Commerce Industry
Yellow Page.I am writing to solicit your assistance in the transfer of
fund. This fund is the excess of what my branch in which I am the
manager made as profit last year (i.e. 2018 financial year). after I
submitted an annual report for that year on 24th December 2018 to my
head office in Accra-Ghana as I have watched with keen interest as they
will never know of this excess of the fund. I placed this amount of
US$12,500,000.00 Dollars on an Escrow Coded account without a
beneficiary (Anonymous) to avoid trace.

If you accept this offer, I will appreciate your timely response to me.
This is why and only reason why I contacted you, I am willing to go into
partnership investment with you owing to your wealth of experience, so
please if you are interested to assist on this venture kindly contact me
back for a brief discussion on how to proceed.

Best regards,
Mr John Thomas

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam