419 scam: Barry Alpha <bojan0090@gmail.com> Hello,

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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:
- "hundred thousand united states 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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Barry Alpha <bojan0090@gmail.com>
Reply-To: alphasonb@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2024 14:34:55 +0000
Subject: Hello,

Hello,

My name is Barry Alpha, the only son of Late Mr. Solomon Alpha, My father
was a wealthy Gold and Diamond Merchant in Freetown Sierra Leone and also
in republic of Cote D'Ivoire, my father relocated to Republic of Togo and
after years was suddenly poisoned to death by his business associates, and
my mother died earlier when I and my younger sister are still little.

Before the death of our father in Lome-Togo, he secretly told us that he
deposited a sum of money to the tune of Two Million Seven Hundred Thousand
United States Dollars (US$2.700, 000.00) with a certain bank. He made us
understand that it was because of this fund as his business is flourishing
that he was poisoned by his partners and he instructed us before his death
that we should not retrieve the fund without the assistance of a
trustworthy foreign partner who will help us retrieve these funds from the
bank. As soon as I get your reply I will give you more details and also
information of the bank where the fund is deposited. Waiting urgently for
your reply,

Barry Alpha

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam