419 scam: "Marcus W. Colins" <atoffice429@gmail.com> Following Attention:

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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:
- "million us 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: "Marcus W. Colins" <atoffice429@gmail.com>
Reply-To: marcuswcolins@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 3 Oct 2021 21:08:39 +0100
Subject: Following Attention:

Attention:

I am Marcus W. Colins, an attorney at law In USA,l am writing in
respect of my late client who is a national of your country and a
Marine Contractor. In 2017, during the Hurricane Irma in Florida, USA,
my client died intestate alongside his wife and their adopted
daughter, leaving behind his vast fortune, real estate and estate
properties valued at $7.5million US Dollars.

Since then, I have made several efforts to locate any of my client's
close relatives but to no avail and after several unsuccessful
attempts, I decided to search his family name over the Internet hence
i contacted you. I am most respectfully soliciting for your mutual
assistance and cooperation to repatriate the large sum of money and
other valued properties left behind by my client before they gets
confiscated as unclaimed.

I want you to stand as the beneficiary to this money since there is no
surviving partner or children of my late client, so that the proceeds
of his bank account, and other assets valued at $$7.5million US
Dollars can be paid to yout as the legal beneficiary and I will come
over to your country for the disbursement of the funds and to discuss
other investment opportunities. I propose a sharing ratio of 50/50 to
each party, i.e 50% to me and 50% to you after payment of Tax and
other transfer charges.

I request your honest cooperation and support to enable us see this
deal through and I hereby guarantee that all information will be
handled confidentially and all proceedure will be discret and legal.

If you accept my offer, kindly send me the following information:

Your Full Name:........
Address:................
Your Age:...............
Occupation:............
Your Telephone, and Mobile for Communication Purpose

Please accept the assurances of my highest esteem and regards for your
office and person.
I await your quick response for more details.
Regards,
Marcus W. Colins
Following Attention:

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam