419 scam: Stephen Cohen <stephencohen10@hotmail.com> Dear Friend, Can I Trust You?.,

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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.

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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.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "necessary legal documents" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "liberia" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a next of kin 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.
- stephen_cohen44@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Stephen Cohen <stephencohen10@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2014 13:12:30 +0000
Subject: Dear Friend, Can I Trust You?.,

>From Stephen Cohen & Associates,
No 33 Howell Crescent Accra Ghana.
Email: stephen_cohen44@yahoo.com

Good Day,

My name is Stephen Cohen, an attorney. I am/was the personal attorney to Late Mr. Pitt , who was a Citizen of your country. On the 27th of January 2010, my client, his wife and their only son died following the bomb blast that occurred in Ghana on that date. Since then I have been making several attempts to locate any of my client's relatives but all my efforts have been unsuccessful.

As a result of this I decided to track his last name over the Internet hoping to locate any member of his family or someone who could fit in. This led to my contacting you, since you have the same last name with my client.

I have contacted you to assist in repatriating the money and property left behind before they are confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Security Company here where he had a cash deposit of US$7,500M. The Security Company has now issued me a final notice of intent to provide his next of kin or have the deposit confiscated and handed over to the government having exceeded the agreed period of deposit.

Since I have been unsuccessful in locating any one who is related to him all these while, i then decided to contact you to seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased so that both of us can retrieve the money from the Security Company and subsequently share it.

It may interest you to note that I have the necessary legal documents that will be used to backup the claim. I expect you may wonder how he made all this money. Well, he was dealing in Diamonds which he was sourcing from Sierra Leone and neighboring Liberia during the period both countries were at war. I can explain more of the details if you want me to.

Please, you will have to get back to me as soon as possible if you might be interested so that we can discuss further. If you can give me a telephone number to reach you, it will be faster.

Best regards.

Mr Stephen Cohen.

PLEASE VIEW WEBSITE BELOW TO CONFIRM WHAT I HAVE SAID.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2718295.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2698081.stm

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam