419 scam: "Dr Donald Benjamin"<drdonaldb009@gmail.com> TREAT AS URGENT AND GET BACK TO ME IMMEDIATELY

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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "diplomatic immunity"
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "western union" (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. )
- "diplomatic immunity" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "diplomatic courier" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "the diplomat " ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "a diplomat " ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.

Fraud email example:

From: "Dr Donald Benjamin" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <drdonaldbenjamin@yahoo.es>
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2015 07:22:37 -0700
Subject: TREAT AS URGENT AND GET BACK TO ME IMMEDIATELY

Central Bank of Nigeria
Fact finding & special duties office
Tinubu square, Lagos

Attn: Dear Friend,

I am Dr Donald Benjamin, a senior staff with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).I am writing you this letter because cool penny is better than millions of dollars in the air. it is better for one to live and die a poor honest man than a rich dishonest one.

I and the chief security officer (cso) of our bank have arranged with an officer in computer section Engineer Chuka Iloh to bring out part of your total contract sum amounting to USD$5 million. why we did this is because according to information gathered from the bank's computer,you have been waiting for a long time to receive your money without success. as I found out that you have almost met all the statutory requirements of the cbn in respect of your contract payment, your problem is that of interest groups. a lot of people are interested in your payment and those people are merely doing paper works with you and that explains why you receive emails and phone messages from different people in Nigeria everyday. Also we found out that some of the officials of the parastatals have been extorting a lot of money from you with the pretext of helping you receive your money.

The money is in two security-proof boxes weighing 110 kg each, that is 220 kg for the two boxes, yesterday we went to four courier companies to make arrangements on how to ship them by courier to you. DHL, EMS, FEDEX,ISA all said that they must open the boxes for inspection because of the customs before shipment. this is something we want to avoid because the boxes were sealed with synthetic nylon padded with machine. we told the courier company that the boxes contains photographic and film materials and when open will loose its efficacy. We did not declare money because couriers do not carry money.

Today a friend of mine who is a diplomat disclosed to me that there is courier company they use to send diplomatic materials and information from one country to another. it has diplomatic immunity and their consignments cannot be inspected by any customs anywhere in the world. The name of the courier service is Transfix express diplomatic courier service (TECS) own by western union company . I will meet them as soon as I have your go ahead order. the diplomat will help me so we do not have any problem. we have concluded that you must compensate us a soon as you receive your money. to this effect,

NOTE (1) send your home address for sending the boxes by courier. please maintain topmost secrecy as it may cause a lot of problems if found out that we are using this way to help you pay to you cash.(2) your private phones (3) your identity of any kind .

Do not ever tell anybody about this until you have your money. i want to help you because something in me is telling me that you are a honest person. when we conclude this and you send the money , promised, we will help to ship the final part of your money to you. God be with us as we wait for your reply. Please do not fail to contact me on my email .

Yours faithfully,

Dr Donald Benjamin
Central Bank of Nigeria

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam