419 scam: "paul"<paulkumuna@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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "hundred thousand us 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)
- "utmost confidentiality" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "paul" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <paulkumuna11@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Aug 2009 17:37:24 +0100
Subject: INVESTMENT PROPOSAL

>From Paul Kumuna
Banjul the Gambia
(West Africa)
-------
Private/Confidential

Dear friend,

I write to solicit your assistance in a project of mutual benefit and regret any inconveniences contacting you this way with my proposal. I am Paul Kumuna, former Head of Accounts Department at the Diamond Mining Company of Sierra Leone.

I and my partners (two others) are in urgent need of a foreign associate to work with us to facilitate the transfer of a large sum of money which we intend to invest into profitable areas of business in your country. The funds currently secured with a security company is legitimate money rightfully belonging to me and my partners, which was earned from private diamond business deals during our time as top officials at the Diamond Mining Company
of Sierra Leone. Due to unstable political and economic environments in Africa, it is not quite safe investing ones financial future in this part of the world. We are currently living in Banjul capital city of The Gambia and in collaboration with some top officials of the Central Bank of Gambia have concluded arrangements for the transfer. The money involved is eighteen million five hundred thousand US Dollars. However, as a result of the regulations here, we cannot transfer the funds to your country without having an associate there.

I am writing to know if you could be our overseas associate to handle the transaction privately at your end, whereby the funds shall be transferred through your bank account, for mutual benefits. All aspects of the transaction will be done legitimately from here via the banking process. We propose your commission shall be 20 per cent of the total money been transferred, in view of the importance your role as our overseas partners will be, without which we cannot transfer the funds.

Please consider this proposal seriously and handle with utmost confidentiality the information I have provided you with here. If you are in a position to assist, then get back to me immediately, so I can give you more details.

Sincerely,

Paul Kumuna.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam