419 scam: "Dr.Maurice Seidu" <kendon73@gmail.com> Investment Proposal

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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:
- "million dollars" (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)
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
- "await your urgent response" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "foreign exchange" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Dr.Maurice Seidu" <kendon73@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mauriceseidu7@mail.ru
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 17:11:03 +0100
Subject: Investment Proposal

It is my warmest pleasure writing you this business letter with a view that
you will accept my request and give me a positive response hence time is
essence.

I am Dr. Maurice Tanco Abisa-Seidu ,The Chief Director with the Ministry of
Food & Agriculture Accra-Ghana. By the virtue of my position and the
power bestowed
on us by the government, I carefully and deliberately over invoiced the
value of some contracts that we awarded to some foreign contractors to the tune
of Twelve Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States dollars
(US$12,500.000.00).

Now the contracts have been fully executed and commissioned and payments
are about to be made to all the contractors who have successfully executed
their contracts, the over invoiced sum of $12.5 Million Dollars is what I
want to transfer out of the country for our own benefit. Unfortunately as a
civil servant I am not permitted by law to operate offshore bank accounts
and this has constituted a major hindrance to my plan in transferring this
fund out of our country and to this end I decided to look for an honest and
trustworthy foreign partner who will assist to provide an offshore bank
account to receive the fund for our mutual benefit hence I am seeking your
assistance.

I have agreed that the owner of the account will be compensated with (50%)
of the total sum for providing the account and note that I have done my
homework very well in my country, this transaction is safe and guaranteed
100% risk free. If you are interested please get back to me so that I will
start approval process of the fund on your behalf from the relevant
authorities including the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Ghana
which will allocate you or your company foreign exchange cover $12,
500.000.00 for the immediate release of this fund into your account by the
Central Bank of Ghana.

I will visit you immediately we conclude the transaction to collect and
invest part of the share into any viable business you may advice in your
country. I will also buy industrial goods for a resale here in Ghana.

Please ensure to treat this matter in strict privacy as I have to protect
my job as a civil servant.

I shall await your urgent response .

Regards,

Dr.Maurice Tanco Abisa-Seidu

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam