419 scam: "Barrister Henry Santos" <santos@suncor.com> RE: IMPORTANT

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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.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- ",500,000" (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)
- "top secret" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
This email message is a next of kin scam.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +34634029337 (Spain, prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- santoshenry10121@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Barrister Henry Santos" <santos@suncor.com>
Reply-To: advocatsantos01@gmail.com
Date: 06 Feb 2024 16:09:51 +0100
Subject: RE: IMPORTANT

Dear. ,

I am Barrister Henry Santos Law in Spain. Firstly I must solicit
your confidence in this proposal; this is by virtue of its nature
as being utterly confidential and top secret. A deceased client
of mine Late Engr. Samuel, that shares same surname with you,
died as a result of 2004 TSUNAMI leaving behind a deposit valued
of â‚¬9,500,000 Euros. He was an oil merchant who engaged in
businesses between Middle East and Europe in the last Nineteen
years.

My purpose of contacting you is for your assistance in securing
the funds left behind with a bank by my late client, to avoid it
being confiscated or returned to the Government as
unclaimed/unserviceable. The fund (Nine Million Five Hundred
Thousand Euros) is currently in a facility here in Euro. It is
not unusual that a transaction of this magnitude might make any
one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring you of the
legitimacy of this transaction. I have been served a notice by
the holding institution to provide the next of kin to my client
or the deposit will be declared unserviceable and the fund
diverted to the State treasury. So far, all my efforts to get a
hold of someone related to him have not been successful. Hence, I
have contacted you. I am actually asking for your consent to
present you as the Next of Kin/beneficiary of my late client's
fund, since you share the same surname, so that the deposit
(Euros â‚¬9.5m) can be released to you. All the legal
documentations to back up your claim as my client's next of Kin,
I shall provide. All I require is your honest cooperation to
enable us achieve this transaction; I will use my position as a
lawyer of the deceased use to complete the transaction
successfully lead.

I wish to point out that I will want 10% of this money to be
shared among charity organizations of our unanimous agreed
choice, while the remaining 90% is shared equally between us.
This transaction is entirely risk free. I will use my position as
the clien +34-634-029-337 E-mail: santoshenry10121@gmail.com
upon your response, I shall then provide you with more details
and relevant documents that will help you understand this
transaction properly. The intended transaction will be executed
under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any
breach of the law. However, if this business proposal offends
your moral ethics, do accept my sincere apology, or if on the
contrary you wish to achieve this goal with me, kindly get back
to me with your interest for further explanations.

Kindest Regards,
Barrister Henry Santos.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam