419 scam: "Mr. Benjamin Opoku"<brian@marinedigital.com> BUSINESS 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)
- "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)
- "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: "Mr. Benjamin Opoku" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <benjaminopoku0@yandex.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2016 22:14:08 -0300
Subject: BUSINESS PROPOSAL,

Dear friend,

My name is Mr. Benjamin Opoku; I am The Head of Department in the accounts section of The Ghana Ministry of Roads and Highways. I am in-charge of payment of road construction contracts and other contracts in the ministry.

A Road Construction Contract was awarded to a Foreign Company here in Ghana, the contract was supposed to be awarded to two companies and the amount that was mapped out for the contract was Seventy Million Dollars (USD$70,000,000.00).

We negotiate with one Construction Company that executed the contract at the cost of Thirty-Five Million Dollars (USD$35,000,000.00) instead of the amount allocated by the Ministry. The contract has been completed and the company has been duly paid as well.

Now, the reason why I contacted you is that, I want you to stand as the second Foreign Contractor so that the remaining balance of Thirty-Five Million Dollars (USD$35,000,000.00) will be paid to your account, then I will come over to your country for sharing and further investment plans.

I want you to know that all the process is going to be legal and I will provide all the legal backup documents to make you one of the Foreign Contractors we have here in Ghana to ensure a successful transfer of the fund.

Be rest assured that this transaction is 100% risk-free because all the legal documents will be taken care of as I have already told you. Please if you are interested reply to me so that I will tell you the procedure.

You can call me with my private number: +233 23 757 5213.

Yours truly,
Mr. Benjamin Opoku.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam