419 scam: "Sir. David Agbantou"<agbantou@vmail.me> Date: 03/29/2014

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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:
- ",000,000" (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)
This email message is a next of kin 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.
- +22964600616 (Benin, probably a 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.
- agbantouchambers@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Sir. David Agbantou" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <info_agbantouchambers@lawyer.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 18:15:19 +0100
Subject: Date: 03/29/2014

Date: 03/29/2014

For Your Urgent Attention!!

My name is Sir. David Agbantou, Esq., a lawyer from the Republic of Benin. I am contacting because of your family name, which happen to be the same with a deceased client of mine from your country in the person of Engineer Vladimir. Given your family name, I believe there is a family ties with you and my late client, hence I contacted you. Mr. Vladimir who lived here in my country with the wife and their son. He worked with an oil company here. Unfortunately, he died in a car accident with his wife and their only son in 2007.

Because of the lack of a beneficiary to receive the legacy of my late client worth Seven Million Euros in a term deposit account with a bank here, the bank is treating to confiscate the legacy as an inheritance without a beneficiary. Given the fact that you have the same family with my late client and come from the same country, I seek your consent to present you to the bank where he had left the 7,000,000 Euro as heir to my late client. The bank wanted to seize this heritage last year, but I used his office as the lawyer to the deceased in asking for more time to look for the extended family of my late client.

With a person like you with the same information as my late client's family and place of origin, once I present you to the bank as heir to my late client, the bank will definitely release the inheritance to you under my legal grantee that you are relative to my late client.

Kindly get back to me as soon as possible with your consent so that I will proceed with the due process.Your prompt response will be very helpful.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Sir. David Agbantou , Esq.

Telephone +229-6460-0616

E-mail: agbantouchambers@gmail.com

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam