419 scam: "Mrs. Margaret Bennett"<kathryn@westhillenergy.com> May the name of God be praised

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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:
- ",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)
- "god fearing " (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Margaret Bennett"<kathryn@westhillenergy.com>
Reply-To: margbennet638@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2022 14:18:19 -1100
Subject: May the name of God be praised

Greetings,
How are you doing? I hope you are doing well. May the name of God be prais=
ed and worship forever.I write to you in good faith and hope that you will =
understand the importance of my email and I hope as God directed me to you,=
I hope you will never let me down.My decision to contact you is because i =
was recently diagnosed with Cancer and the doctor said I have less than 8 w=
eeks to live. Since this sudden news was announced to me,i have been reflec=
ting over my life in the past. It is painful that after over 24 years of pe=
aceful marriage with my late husband, we had a 23 yrs old son who Died in a=
n auto crash three years ago. In the past, I have made reasonable donations=
to the victims of earthquake in Haiti and recently to the same victims in =
Japan and Thailand and also support the victim of Boko Haram terrorist in W=
estern part of Africa, Now that my health is gradually deteriorating, i can=
not continue to do all these by myself any more. I strongly desire to reach=
out to the poor and needy people, but I would prefer to continue this with=
the assistance of a kind person. I want you to answer the following questi=
ons : (1) are you a God fearing person?YES
(2) If I donate (GBP=A35,000,000.00) Five Million Great Britain Pound Ste=
rling to you, can you be able to utilize it wisely to achieve my heart's de=
sire of supporting poor people around you? YES

(3)Will you open a charity foundation in the name of I and my husband? YES=
- GIVE ME THE NAME OF YOUR HUSBAND

Please write back as soon as possible.
Yours Faithfully
Mrs. Margaret Bennett.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam