419 scam: MR KOFI SMITH <mrsmithkofi34@msn.com> PLEASE ADVISE 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:

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.
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.
- dt9112000@financier.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: MR KOFI SMITH <mrsmithkofi34@msn.com>
Reply-To: <dt9112000@financier.com>
Date: Tue, 15 May 2012 18:23:10 +0000
Subject: PLEASE ADVISE ME

From: Mr.Kofi Smith

Private Email:dt9112000@financier.com

Greetings,

I am Mr.Kofi Smith, branch bank manager here in Ghana. My branch made excess profit of US$9,950,000.00 during the last fiscal year, which I placed on Escrow Call account without a beneficiary in our bank since i have already submitted 2011 approved end of the year report to our head office. In essence i need a trustworthy foreigner whom will stand as the original depositor of this fund, so that the fund will be transferred to his/her private or company account immediately.

This transaction is bank to bank transfer and no risks involve. I will use my position to influence this project in other to expedite the transfer by our bank head office. You will have 45% of the total sum, 5% for expenses incurred during the conclusion of this transaction while 50% for me.

Private Email:dt9112000@financier.com

Await your positive reply for more details and the next step to proceed.
Best regards,
Mr.Kofi Smith

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam