419 scam: "Mr. Stephen Jidego" <stjidego@onet.pl> Get back to me.

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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)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "you will be entitled to 30%" (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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Stephen Jidego" <stjidego@onet.pl>
Reply-To: <stjidego@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:41:22 -0000
Subject: Get back to me.

Dear Friend,

I am Mr. Stephen Jidego, the Regional Director of the International Commercial Bank Ghana Ltd., Ahabong Branch. I write to know if it will interest you to enter into a beneficiary business transaction with me.

On the course of last year (2009), my branch in which I am the Regional Director made an excess profit of the sum of US$2,500,000.00 which no one is aware of and will never be aware of it forever.

Under this arrangement, I have since placed the fund into what we call "Escrow Account" with no beneficiary and I am contacting you to know if it will interest you to stand as the original beneficiary of the funds to enable our head office approve the release of the funds into your chosen bank account for us to share. If you agree to work with me in securing of this fund, you will be entitled to 30% of the total amount as a commission for your assistance upon the completion of the transaction.And note that there are practically no risk involve in this transaction.

All you to do is to just forward to me your full details so I can program them into our database as the original beneficiary of the funds and I will send to you a draft application letter which you shall send to our head office for the release of the funds to your bank account. Get back to me as soon as possible.

Your earliest response would be highly appreciated.

Regards,
Mr. Stephen Jidego

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam