419 scam: "Dr. Bonney Andrews" <fw.waziri@gmail.com> Contact me immediately

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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- ",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)
- "very 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)
- "contract award committee" (the name of a person or institution often appearing 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. Bonney Andrews" <fw.waziri@gmail.com>
Reply-To: drbonneyandrewss@hotmail.com
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 22:23:23 +0100
Subject: Contact me immediately

Dear Sir/Madam

RE: For your assistance please

I am seriously seeking for your assistance and partnership in this contract
transaction, believing that you will not disappoint us. I am a highly
positioned officer in the Petroleum Ministry of my country Ghana and we are
in charge of Contract Award Committee. We have used our position to make
the sum of (US$38,000,000.00) Thirty Eight Million U.S Dollars which we
have kept very confidential to ourselves. This sum came through brokerage
commission from the contracts we awarded to the foreign contractors.

The US$38,000,000.00 is currently in the GNPC Account, I am writing this
Email to seek your attention and permission to enable us transfer this
amount into your a/c or into any other a/c that you can nominate to us. For
us to commence the processing of this transaction, you are required to send
the followings, your full names, address and your banking information that
will be used for wire transfer.

Please send your information as soon as possible to enable us process the
necessary payment approvals for the wire transfer.

I look forth to your immediate reply.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr. Bonney Andrews

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam