419 scam: "DR. DAVE OWOLABI"<daveowo777@yahoo.cn> FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE

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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)
- "please indicate your interest" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "may come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "million 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)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +2348022355000 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "DR. DAVE OWOLABI" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <dowolabi@yahoo.cn>
Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:20:32 +1200
Subject: FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE

FROM THE CHIEF ACCOUNTANT
NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NNPC)

DR. DAVE OWOLABI.

DEAR FRIEND,

THIS LETTER MAY COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE BUT I WANT YOU TO KINDLY TREAT IT AS AN IMPORTANT AFFAIR.

MY NAME IS DR. DAVE OWOLABI, THE CHIEF ACCOUNTANT WITH THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NNPC). INEED YOUR ASSISTANCE TO TRANSFER THE SUM OF ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS ONLY (US$118,000.000.00).

THIS MONEY IS NOW DEPOSITED IN THE NNPC TREASURY ACCOUNT WITH THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA. THE SUM AROSE FROM THE DELIBERATE OVER-INVOICING OF A CONTRACT AWARDED BY THE NNPC TO A FOREIGN FIRMFOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS PLANT (LNG) IN BONNY, SOUTHERNNIGERIA FOR OVER SEVEN YEARS AGO.

THIS CONTRACT HAS BEEN COMPLETELY EXECUTED, COMMISSIONED AND THE CONTRACTOR THAT HANDLED THIS CONTRACT HAS COLLECTED HIS FINAL PAYMENT; THUS LEAVING BEHIND THE ABOVE STATED AMOUNT WHICH REPRESENTS THE OVER INVOICED SUM, HOWEVER, THE CODE OF CONDUCT BUREAU (CIVILSERVANTS LAWS) DOES NOT ALLOW US TO OWN AND OPERATE FOREIGN ACCOUNT, THEREFORE,I NEEDED A FOREIGN PARTNER THAT WILL PRESENT HIMSELF AS THE SUB-CONTRACTOR BY PROVIDING HIS BANK PARTICULARS SO THAT THE MONEY WILL BE TRANSFERRED INTO THE ACCOUNT.

I WILL NEED YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONEAND FAX NUMBER FOR EASY COMMUNICATION SO THAT I WILL GIVE YOU MORE DETAILS,NOTE THAT ALL MODALITIES FOR THE TAKE-OFF OF THIS TRANSACTION HAS BEEN WORKED OUT AND FURTHER ACTION WILL COMMENCE IMMEDIATELY I HEAR FROM YOU, I SOLICIT FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK ME.

FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THIS TRANSACTION I WILL BE VERY PLEASED TO GIVE YOU A SHARE OF 25% OF THE TOTAL SUM,75% FOR ME AND MY TWO COLLEAGUES;

IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ASSIST US IN THIS TRANSACTION PLEASE INDICATE YOUR INTEREST WITH OUT DELAY BY CALLING ME ON MY DIRECT PHONE: +234 8022 355 000 .

YOURS TRULY,

DR. DAVE OWOLABI

CONFIDENTIAL SATELLITE FAX LINES:+870 763 592 091 OR +870 762 748 687.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam