419 scam: "Mr. Kevin Higgins" <mlekanmimiko@gmail.com> write back for update

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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)
- ",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)
- "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)
- "% 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)
- "my names are " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "power of attorney" (with your bank details and a power of attorney form criminals sometimes empty bank accounts)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Kevin Higgins" <mlekanmimiko@gmail.com>
Reply-To: hlsustrictwebinfo@yahoo.co.jp
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 15:13:07 -0700
Subject: write back for update

Dear Friend:

My names are Mr. Guosa Obalin, I am about to retire from my job as
auditor with Texaco Oil Company before the end of the year 2014. I
write to inform you of my intention to invest in a hotel, real estate
or any other business in your country and to request your assistance
in carrying out the feasibility studies on location, type and
estimation on how much it will cost to establish a three star hotel
either by outright purchase, already existing but dilapidated one,
renovate or setting up a new one entirely.

If you sincerely carry out this survey, and give me a feedback as
early as possible, I will give you the power of attorney to build &
manage the hotel on my behalf, pending my retirement. I have
(US$8,000,000.00) that I deposited for this project, and 0.8% will be
for you as part of services done on completion while the rest will be
for setting up the project on my behalf.

I am presently down with kidney transplant as a result of my age but I
have been assured by my doctor that I will be fine and back to work
soon. Please do let me know if you are capable of handling all these.
I will be expecting your reply as soon as possible. This is genuine
and I need all seriousness attached to this project.

Thanks.
Mr. Guosa Obalin

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam