419 scam: cletus ofonedo <cletusofonedo@rediffmail.com> Dear Beloved

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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 beloved," (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "may come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
This email message is a "dying merchant" scam.
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.
- cletusofonedo@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: cletus ofonedo <cletusofonedo@rediffmail.com>
Reply-To: cletusofonedo@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:56:22 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Dear Beloved

Dear Beloved,

This letter may come to you as a surprise due to the fact that we have not yet met. Firstly, I have to say that I have no intentions of causing you any pain.

My name is Mr. CLETUS OFONEDO, an IVORY COAST NATIONALITY, A COCOA MERCHANT.

I have been diagnosed with Prostate and Esophageal cancer that was discovered very late due to lack of caring for my health. It has defiled all form of medicine and right now, I have only about a few months to live according to medical experts.

Â I have not particularly lived my life so well, as I never really cared for anyone not even myself but my business.Though I am very rich, I was never generous, I was always hostile to people and only focus on my business as that was the only thing I cared for.

Â But now I regret all this as I now know that there is more to life than just wanting to have or make all the money in the world.

Â I use to say to my self that if God should give me a second chance I would live differently from how I have lived. I was meditating on my hospital bed and something told me that God is giving me a second chance by keeping me alive though doctors said I wonâ€™t last long. I know my time is near, thatâ€™is why I have willed and given mos

So far, I have been able to give alms to a few charity organizations in the U.A.E, somalia, Sudan, Zimbabwe I gave donations to the Global Fund for Children, GCF and I met two people over the internet that have successfully distributed my funds to charity organizations in their country. Now my health is deteriorating so badly, I really need you to help me distribute the last of my fortune.

I want this to be one of the last good deeds I do on earth. You might be wondering why I did not pick my close relatives for this task, but I once asked members of my family to close one of my accounts and donate the money there to a charity organization in Bulgaria.

They closed the account but refused to donate the money to the organization, but instead shared the money amongst themselves. From the way they are acting around me, something tells me they want me dead so they can split my last remaining assets and money.

Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as they seem not to be content with what I have left for them.The last of my money which is a huge cash deposit that I have with a security firm will be put in your care if only you will agree and are capable of seeing this through.

I want you to help me collect this deposit US$1.5 million and dispatched it to charity organizations of your choice and let them know that it is I, Mr. CLETUS OFONEDO that is making this generous donation.

I am writing this from my laptop computer in my hospital bed where I wait for my time to come. I pray for you to support and assist me with a good heart. I hope we can build a relationship based on trust because I want to do this by all means possible before I die.

But the choice is yours Please you can contact me through this email address: cletusofonedo@yahoo.com

Be blessed my beloved,

Cletus Ofonedo

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam