419 scam: "BLAISE GAWU"<blaisegawu@sify.com> Can You Handle This?

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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)
- "with your full names" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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)
- ",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)
- "very confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
- "dormant account" (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 next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "BLAISE GAWU" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <blaisegawu2@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 10:19:07 -0700
Subject: Can You Handle This?

Dear Friend,

I have a proposal for you, this however is not mandatory nor will I in any manner compel you to honour the content against your will. I am Mr. Blaise Gawu; I work with a bank (one of the leading banks in Africa). Here in this bank exists a dormant account for the past 8years which belongs to an American national who is now late, by name Mr. Christian Eich the account owner an engineer who ran Carmaker BMW's Museum, his wife and two children and his wife's parents were also among the victims in a plane crash of Alaska airlines flight number AF4590 which crashed on you shall read more about the crash on visiting bellow web site. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm

When I discovered that there had been no deposits or withdrawals from this account for this long period, I decided to carry out a system investigation and discovered that none of the family members or relations of the late person is aware of this account. Now I want an account overseas where the bank will transfer this fund.

Thereafter, I will destroy all related documents to this account. It is a careful network and for the past eleven months I have worked out everything to ensure a hitch-free operation. The amount plus all the accumulated interest is US$45,000,000:00 (Forty Five Million Dollars only).

Now my questions are: -

1. Can you handle this project?

2. Can I give you this trust?

3. What will be your commission if you can facilitate the movement of this fund to your account?

Consider these and get back to me as soon as possible with your full names, private telephone, Mobile and fax numbers, corresponding postal address, etc. Finally, it is my humble request that the information as contained herein be accorded with every confidentiality and the necessary secrecy it deserves I expect your urgent response.

Yours Sincerely,

Blaise Gawu.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam