419 scam: "Samuel Barcliff"<root@kern-handel.de> RE:

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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)
- "confidential business" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Samuel Barcliff" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <auditorsambarcliff1@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2023 11:36:46 -0700
Subject: RE:

Dear Friend,

I trust you are doing good today, I am Samuel Barcliff, an auditor with one of the top rated banks in the United Kingdom. I seek your consent to discuss a very confidential business opportunity with you.

There is a dormant account that belongs to my late client who died in an auto-crash with his wife and daughter while in exile here in the UK since 2010 (May their soul rest in peace).

I have all the particulars concerning the fixed deposit my portfolio, and I wish to close down the fixed deposit account and repatriate the funds to your country for investment. If you are interested, get back to me for more details.

Regards,

Samuel Barcliff.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam