419 scam: "Mrs. Melissa Richardson" <998877thomps@gmail.com> Dear Trusting Friend in God,

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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.
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.
- mrsmelissar037@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Melissa Richardson" <998877thomps@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mrsmelissar037@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2022 09:47:34 -0700
Subject: Dear Trusting Friend in God,

Dear Trusting Friend in God,

This Mrs.Melissa Richardson from London,58 years an aging widow
suffering from long time illness. I have the sum of $17.5M for you to
use the fund for Godâ€™s work.

I found your e-mail address as a real Child of God for over a month
now that I have been praying about you to know if really you are
working according to the direction of God so after all my prayers I am
convince, and I have decided to contact you,Please if you would be
able to use the funds for the Lordâ€™s work, with trust reply me with
this e-mail address: (mrsmelissar037@gmail.com)

Thanks
Yours in the Lord
Mrs. Melissa Richardson

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam