419 scam: "johnson.mark" <johnson.mark220@gmail.com> From: Dr Johnson Mark Urgent Assistant Needed

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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)
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "johnson.mark" <johnson.mark220@gmail.com>
Reply-To: johnson.mark@voila.fr
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2011 08:43:53 -0800 (PST)
Subject: From: Dr Johnson Mark Urgent Assistant Needed

Dear Friend,

I know that this mail will come to you as a surprise as we have never met before, but need not to worry as I am using the only secured and confidential medium available to seek for your foreign assistance in a business transaction. I am contacting you independently and no one is informed of this communication.

However, my name is Dr. Johnson Mark .I am a banker by profession. I hail from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, West Africa.

My reason for contacting you is to transfer an abandoned $10, 300, 000.00 (Ten Million Three Hundred Thousand Dollars) to your account. The money has been here in our Bank lying dormant for nine good years now without anybody coming for the claim of it.The owner of this fund died since 2001 with his Next Of Kin. I want to present you to the bank as the Next of Kin/beneficiary of this fund.

Further details of the transaction shall be forwarded to you as soon as I receive your return mail indicating your interest.

Best regards,

Dr. Johnson Mark

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam