419 scam: "Dr. Abba Francis"<drabbafrancis@yahoo.com> Thank you very much for your anticipated co-operation.

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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:
- "million 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)
- "% will be for you" (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)
- "is highly 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)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Dr. Abba Francis" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <drabbafrancis001@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:45:46 +0100
Subject: Thank you very much for your anticipated co-operation.

Hello Dear,

IT IS WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE THAT I MAKE THIS URGENT AND IMPORTANT BUSINESS PROPOSAL TO YOU. I AM SENIOR ACCOUNTANT WITH THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NNPC) HERE IN LAGOS. I HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED BY MY COLLEAGUES TO SEEK A FOREIGN PARTNER IN THE TRANSFER OF THE SUM OF US$25 MILLION (TWENTY FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS) ONLY. THIS MONEY AROSE FROM A DELIBERATE OVER INVOICING OF A PARTICULAR CONTRACT AWARDED CORPORATION IN 1997.

WE HAVE BEEN SAFEGUARDING THIS MONEY SINCE THEN, AWAITING AN APPROPRIATE TIME WHEN THE MONEY CAN BE TRANSFERRED INTO A SAFE KEEPING, PENDING OUR ARRIVAL FOR THE SHARING AND UTILIZATION WITH THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT. NOW THE NEW CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT HAVE ORDERED THAT ALL DEBTS OWED FOREIGN CONTRACTORS BY THE GOVERNMENT BE PAID IMMEDIATELY, ON THE STRENGTH OF THIS ORDER, WE WISH TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT TO PRESENT YOU OR YOUR COMPANY AS ONE OF THE CONTRACTORS BEING OWED BY THE GOVERNMENT.

MEANWHILE, WE HAVE AGREED THAT THE MONEY WILL BE SHARED THUS, 75% WILL BE FOR US( I AND MY COLLEAGUES),20% WILL BE FOR YOU FOR PROVIDING THE NECESSARY ASSISTANCE WHILE THE REMAINING 5% HAS BEEN MAPPED OUT FOR INCIDENTAL EXPENSES THAT MIGHT BE INCURRED IN THE COURSE OF THIS TRANSACTION.

NOTE, THAT THE NATURE OF YOUR COMPANY'S BUSINESS IS IRRELEVANT TO THIS TRANSACTION AS ALL ARRANGEMENTS HAVE BEEN CONCLUDED FOR A SUCCESSFUL AND HITCH- FREE TRANSACTION. NOTE THAT THIS MONEY IS STILL IN SUSPENSE ACCOUNT OF MY CORPORATION (NNPC) WITH CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA.YOU ARE REQUIRED TO FAX THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION TO US IMMEDIATELY

(1) YOUR PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS

(2) NAME AND ADDRESS OF YOUR BANK, PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS

(3) YOUR ACCOUNT NUMBER

WE HAVE TAKEN MEASURES TO ENSURE THAT THERE ARE NO RISKS INVOLVED ON BOTH PARTIES. WE HAVE ESTIMATED THAT THIS TRANSACTION WILL BE CONCLUDED WITHIN 14 WORKING DAYS ON RECEIPT OF YOUR ACCEPTANCE LETTER TO THIS PROPOSAL BY E- MAIL. PLEASE REACH SIGNIFYING YOUR INTEREST IN THIS BUSINESS THIS INFORMATION IS HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL AND URGENT.

FURTHER INFORMATION WILL BE CONVEYED TO YOU AS SOON AS I RECEIVE YOUR ACCEPTANCE RESPONSE.

BEST REGARDS.
ABBA FRANCIS

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam