419 scam: Brama Nikima <company.claim.agent@gmail.com> DEAR FRIEND

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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "00,000.00" (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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Brama Nikima <company.claim.agent@gmail.com>
Reply-To: bramanikima@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 08:35:23 -0700
Subject: DEAR FRIEND

DEAR FRIEND

FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION, I WILL BE VERY GLAD IF YOU DO ASSIST ME TO
RELOCATE A SUM OF (US$6,200,000.00 MILLION) TO YOUR PERSONAL BANK
ACCOUNT FOR THE BENEFIT OF BOTH OF US. THIS IS A GENUINE BUSINESS
TRANSACTION, ONLY THAT I CANNOT OPERATE IT ALONE WITHOUT USING A
FOREIGNER AS REQUIRED IN MY BANK LAW, THEREFORE I AM CONTACTING YOU TO
STAND BEFORE MY BANK AS THE BENEFICIARY NEXT OF KIN OF THIS FUND, THAT
IS MY REASON OF CONTACTING YOU IN THIS MANNER TO ASSIST ME ACTUALIZE
THIS BETTER OPPORTUNITY, ALSO TO SHARE THE BENEFIT TOGETHER WITH ME.

YOU WILL BE ENTITLED TO HAVE 30% OF THIS FUND AS A FOREIGN PARTNER,
SINCE YOU WILL PROVIDE A BANK ACCOUNT WHERE THIS MONEY WILL BE
TRANSFERRED TO, WHILE 70%WILLBE FOR ME, BY INDICATING YOUR INTEREST ON
ASSURANCE OF TRUST, I WILL SEND YOU THE FULL DETAILS AND HOW THIS
BUSINESS WILL BE EXECUTED. THIS PROPOSAL AS A TOP SECRET BETWEEN BOTH
OF US BECAUSE THE SECRET OF THIS TRANSACTION IS AS WELL AS THE SUCCESS
OF IT, AND IF YOU ARE REALLY SURE OF YOUR INTEGRITY, TRUSTWORTHY AND
CONFIDENTIALITY REPLY BACK TO ME IMMEDIATELY TO PROVE YOUR INTEGRITY,
AND IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED ABOUT THIS BUSINESS DELETE IT
IMMEDIATELY IN YOUR EMAIL BOX.

I WILL BE LOOKING FORWARD FOR YOUR URGENT RESPONSE.
REGARDS, IN SINCERITY,
BRAMA NIKIMA

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam