419 scam: "Mr. Austen I. N. Obigwe," <austenobigwe4@gmail.com> Treat as Urgent.

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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:
- "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.
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.
- +2348057765733 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Austen I. N. Obigwe," <austenobigwe4@gmail.com>
Reply-To: austeninobigwe2001@live.com
Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2014 14:41:56 -0700
Subject: Treat as Urgent.

Hello,

Compliment of the season and I feel quite safe dealing with you in
this mutual beneficial transaction. Though, this medium (Internet) has
been greatly abused, I choose to reach you through it because it still
remains the fastest, surest and most secured medium of communication,
However, this correspondence is purely private and it should be
treated as such. I also guarantee you that this deal is hitch free
from all what you may think of.

I have US$45 Million to transfer to you for our own benefit. My questions are?

1. Can you handle this project?
2. Can I give you this trust?

To commence this transaction, I require you to immediately indicate
your interest by a return mail or call me +234-8057765733 for more
details.

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Austen I. N. Obigwe.
Executive Director, Union Bank Plc,
Lagos, Nigeria.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam