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"Francois Pinault" Donation Scam: Do Not Be Fooled

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Dec 9, 2018 2018-12-09T15:39:55-05:00
Apr 8, 2020 2020-04-08T10:34:31-05:00

Online Threat Alerts (OTA)

Francois Pinault Donation Scam Do Not Be Fooled

Online users, be aware of the "Francois Pinault" donation scam below. The scam is being sent by scammers who are attempting to trick their potential victims into sending them money. Francois Pinault, a French billionaire businessman and art collector, would never send emails to random individuals around the world requesting personal information or ask them to send money in order to receive a donation from him.

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Remember, never send money or personal information if you are asked to do so in order to receive a donation or lottery prize. This is how scammers steal their potential victims' information, and how they steal their victims' money.

The "Francois Pinault" Donation Scam

Von: "Lyashchun, Vasyl" - VLYASHCHUN@NCH.ORG

Datum: 09.12.18 21:08 (GMT+01:00)

An:

Betreff: RE:

Hi, A donation was made in your favor by Francois Pinault. Reply to this email: ( mrfrapin@gmail.com ) for more details.

Recipients of the same email are asked to delete it and should not follow the instructions in it.

Check the comment section below for additional information, share what you know, or ask a question about this article by leaving a comment below. And, to quickly find answers to your questions, use our search engine. Search

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Comments, Answers, Reviews or Questions

To protect your privacy, please remove sensitive or identifiable information from your comments, questions, or reviews. Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic.

Comments (39)

Nov. 22, 2024 at 6:02 PM by an anonymous user from: Davidson County, Nashville, Tennessee, United States

It's 2024 and this is the second email I've got from dude!

Thanks scammers, go away now

Dec. 9, 2022 at 12:16 AM by an anonymous user from: Eti Osa, Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria

Good morning everyone please someone here should help me to report this below email, someone pretend to be Mrs Charlotte trying to steal my money...

Jan. 21, 2022 at 2:28 PM by an anonymous user from: Burlington County, Southampton Township, New Jersey, United States

I received the Francois P. email about a donation as well. I replied " ... you have the wrong email address ... " I then received a long email explaining why I was picked to receive a more than $7M USD donation under my name to give away to the needy in my area. I was not asked for money (yet) but was asked for personal information (not an SSN or a bank acct - just general info like Name, Address, Country, Age, Gender, Marital Status, Occupation and Phone #). Suffice it to say, I deleted this longer message w/o replying.

Dec. 28, 2021 at 9:32 AM by an anonymous user from: Centretown-Downtown, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

I found the email "francoispinault03@outlook.com" associated with another scam that was sent from "lazaro.santos@pmsj.ba.gov.br". This scam had a Subject of "re" and an absolutely bizarre From address displayed ("=?utf-8?b?IkZyYW7Dp29pcyBQaW5hdWx0IiA8bGF6YXJvLnNhbnRvc0BwbXNqLmJhLmdv?="@mail.pmsj.ba.gov.br).

The email itself was:

$3.5 Million Has Been Donated To You,By François Pinault due to the covid-19 pandemic this is Real Get back For More Info

WhatsApp: 447452035105 ...

Dec. 21, 2021 at 4:14 AM by an anonymous user from: Monroe, Louisiana, United States

Is it even worth finding and locating sender?

Jun. 12, 2021 at 6:15 PM by info

"From: Maureen Harness (ADE) <Maureen.Harness@arkansas.gov>

Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2021 1:27:22 AM

To: Maureen Harness (ADE) <Maureen.Harness@arkansas.gov>

Subject: RE: Offer!

A donation is made to you by Mr. François Pinault. Reply Via Email: [ mr.francospt@outlook.com ] for more details.

Sincerely,

Mr. François Pinault"

Here is another scam.

Apr. 6, 2021 at 3:59 AM by an anonymous user from: Mill Hill, London, England, United Kingdom

I got this message yesterday but a larger email promising me the money if my dreams to be able to purchase my dream home in sandbanks with a lift as disabled. I thought wow this guy is doing random acts of kindness which I do myself then my heart sank this is a con and it made me feel sick these people shouldn’t be allowed to rip people off shame on them.

I am disabled and I have a disabled daughter if I where Francois I will put a stop to this. I was told I would be receiving 7.5 million because he was dying and wanted to share his wealth. I felt sad about this. PLEASE NO ONE FALL FOR THIS. I have very little and that could have been reduced to nothing thanks to these scammers

Dec. 13, 2020 at 6:08 PM by an anonymous user from: Soma, San Francisco, California, United States

I received this email today, and thank you for your article so I can find this old scam is still around. Looks like the name has changed to Patrick and Francess Connolly but nothing else is different. Odd way to spell Francis.

Urban Dictionary: "Francess. A beautiful girl who any man is lucky to have in his life she is kind,caring,loving,supportive and hot she will never leave someone out she will be kind .."

Email received From: Gayle Elizabeth Paquette (Gpaquette@tru.ca)

Email contents:

"A special donation was made to you and your family. Contact ( patrickandfrancessconnolly@gmail.com) for details...

Please Note: This is the third time we have been trying to contact you.

Best Regards"

Oct. 20, 2020 at 9:00 AM by an anonymous user from: Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape, South Africa

I received a very authentic looking email and various attachments that certaI ly looked legitimate and what ultimately made me respond to the email, is that a copy of Mr. Francois Pinaults passport and I googled information on him and everything seemed to stack up. I also received a POA issued in my favour and allegedly signed by Mr Pinault and co signed by a partner at the law firm Perez Llorca. I have tried numerous times to contact them, in this regard, but have received no reply. The other 'official'documents I received were a Deposit Certificate from BNP Paribas Bank and a release of funds for from Kering Group. It just all looks so legit but is obviously not for real. Who can I report this to? My email is andrevolbrecht@gmail.com I would appreciate any assistance with this matter. Many thanks, Andre Volbrecht

Aug. 31, 2020 at 7:08 AM by an anonymous user from: Oeiras, Lisbon, Portugal

"FROM: Monique Kellerman <monique.kellerman@comcast.net>

I'm Mrs. Monique Kellerman, personal assistant to Mr. François Pinault.

Special donation was made to you to support humanity.

kindly contact for more details.

Regard.

Monique Kellerman.

*Please consider the environment before printing any email correspondence. Print only when necessary.

This email is only sent to the intended recipients and addressees in confidence and not for external circulations.*"

Another scam.

Jul. 25, 2020 at 6:47 PM by an anonymous user from: Calhoun, Tennessee, United States

Mine just came from Grainne Kelleher, haven't opened the message sent by gkelleher@ROTUNDA.ie

preview says a donation has been made in my name by Mr. Pinault. I'm not a buddy of Mr. Pinault and he doesn't stop by for dinner any more so I'm deleting this...

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