419 scam: david williams <davidwilliams5677@gmail.com> 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)
- "clearance certificate" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "clearance certificate" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "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)
- "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)
- "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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: david williams <davidwilliams5677@gmail.com>
Reply-To: david.williams1062@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2021 00:19:43 +0000
Subject: DEAR FRIEND,

Dear Friend,

How are you doing today Sir? I want to use this medium to update you our
current situation so far in regards to our outstanding transaction, based
on the legal issues in which we has been encountering required proper legal
documentations of our fund, we've decided to involved a financier agent who
is ready to handle every expenses until the entire $34 Million dollars gets
into your bank account as we planned.

So far we've agreed that the financier agent will make available funds in
which we're legally going to secure every required documentations including
anti-drug law enforcement agency clearance certificate that is going to
prove that this $34 Million wasn't coming from any drug activities.

Based on the above reason the financier agent has accepted to give us soft
loan of $3,400,000.00 Million US dollars in which the payment will be
making gradually, but they requested from us to provide a bank account in
the USA, however, I made the financier agent to understand that I've an
American business associate who will provide the bank account where the
money will be transferred into.

I would like to use this medium to introduce you to the director of
operation of this financier company in America so that both of you will
summarize everything to enable us move forward.

Thank you once again

Best regards

David Williams,

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam