419 scam: vivian johnson <vivian_johnson21@yahoo.fr> DEAR LOVELY ONE,

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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:
- ",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)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "united state of america" (this email uses bad English)
- "abidjan" (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.
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- vivian9johnson@yahoo.fr (Yahoo, France; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: vivian johnson <vivian_johnson21@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: vivian9johnson@yahoo.fr
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2010 13:10:16 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: DEAR LOVELY ONE,

DEAR LOVELY ONE,

PLEASE PERMIT ME TO INTRODUCE MY SELF TO YOU, MY NAME IS VIVIAN JOHNSON,I AM 20 YEARS OLD, THE ONLY DAUGHTER OF LATE CHIEF JOHNSON NichLAS , WHO WAS A FAMOUS COCOA MERCHANT BASED IN ABIDJAN HERE,THE ECONOMIC CAPITAL OF IVORY COAST (COTE D'IVOIRE).

I AM SEEKING FOR YOUR URGENT ATTENTION TO HELP ME TRANSFER THE SUM OF (US$10,500,000.00 )SEVEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATE OF AMERICAN DOLLARS INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT.

PLEASE, I AM WILLING TO OFFER YOU 15% OF THIS MY TOTAL FUND AS YOUR COMMISSION FOR YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE TO ME. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I HAVE ALL THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS IN RELATION TO THIS FUND DEPOSITED BY MY LATE FATHER IN THE BANK.

I BELIEVE THAT THIS TRANSACTION WOULD BE CONCLUDED WITHIN (7) DAYS YOU SIGNIFY YOUR INTREST TO ASSIST ME.
PLEASE DO WRITE ME AT MY DIRECT AND PRIVATE E MAIL FOR MORE INFORMATIONS (vivian9johnson@yahoo.fr ).

ANTICIPATING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON.

THANK YOU ,

YOURS FAITHFULLY,

VIVIAN.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam