419 scam: "Mrs.Esther Bawa" <mrs1949@hotmail.com> Calvary greetings in the name of Almighty 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:

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:
- "with your full names" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "your urgent reply" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "contact me immediately" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "calvary greetings" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
This email message is a "dying widow" scam.
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.
- +22996183883 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs.Esther Bawa" <mrs1949@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: mrsestherbawa@live.com
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:31:45 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Calvary greetings in the name of Almighty God.

Calvary greetings in the name of Almighty God.

I am Mrs
Esther Bawa, A widow to Late Dr James Bawa (former Counselor of the
Benin Embassy in France. we own Treasure Art Inc and Treasure Crude Oil
Marketers, we have a lot of properties including Shares and houses. I
am 69 years old a new Christian convert. I am suffering from cancer of
the Pelvic my condition is serious; according to my doctor it is quite
obvious that I may not survive the sickness.

My late husband
and my only son died in the crash of Swissair Flight 111 on the 2, of
September 1998. After the death of my husband I made up my mind to do
the work of God as a missionary. I sold all my husband's properties and
shares to enable me raise some money to continue my mission. I raised
the sum of (20.8 MILLION EUROS) which I deposited with a Bank here.

I
have prayed to God to direct me to a honest PERSON who will receive
this fund and utilize it for things that will glorify the name of God,
after my prayers, I searched your site in the Internet, I found your
email address and I decided to contact you to receive the fund. This is
on the condition that you will take only 35% of the fund for yourself,
5% for any expenses, while you will use the remaining 60% for the less
privileges people in the society.

This
is in fulfillment of the last request of my late husband, that a
substantial part of his fund should be used to carter for the less
privilege people, If this condition is acceptable to you, you should
contact me immediately with your full names and contact information's
so that I will have the trust to pass the right of next of kin to you.

I
can not predict what will be my fate by the time the fund will be
transferred into your account, but you should please ensure that the
fund is used as I have described above. Please contact my doctor at
this number +229 96 183 883 to speak to me.

I await your urgent reply.

Most sincerely,

Mrs. Esther Bawa

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam