419 scam: Williams Amani <wamani225_ci@btinternet.com> From: Williams Amani!

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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:
- "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)
- "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)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Williams Amani <wamani225_ci@btinternet.com>
Reply-To: wamani225_ci@hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 12 May 2010 22:27:20 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: From: Williams Amani!

Dearest,

Greetings in the name of God. I am Williams Amani from Sierra Leone. I am writing you from Rep of Cote d'Ivoire where i have been taking refuge after the brutal war and murder of my parents by the rebels during the renewed fighting in my country Sierra Leone. Because of the war my late father sold his shipping company and took me to a nearby country Cote d'Ivoire where he deposited US$18, 300,000.00 Million(Eighteen Million Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) in his foreign account with one of the bank here in Cote d'Ivoire. Please, i have prayed before contacting you with the trust that you will be of help to me, with the current political situation in Cote d'Ivoire now. I am seeking for your assistance to transfer this money to your account for a good investment project in your country and also relocate to your country to further my study. I am willing to offer you 20% of the total sum for your assistance. Please for your good information
this transaction is 100% risk free and in no way connected with any illegal transaction. Please help me to get out of this terrible situation as soon as you receive this mail. Please kindly write me back immediately for more details, it's very important.
kind regards,
Williams Amani.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam