419 scam: Mark Johnson <officemarkesq@gmail.com> Attention: ,Urgent

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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.
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. )
- "huge deposit" (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)
- "million dollars" (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)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a next of kin scam.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +22968785331 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- officemarkesq2@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Mark Johnson <officemarkesq@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2014 13:51:41 +0100
Subject: Attention: ,Urgent

Mark Johnson.
Associations de Juristes d'Affaires
Bureau 01, B.P. 7594
Cotonou-Benin Republic
Tel: +229-68-78-53-31

Attention: ,

Please kindly accept my apology for sending unsolicited mail to you. I
believe you are a highly respected personality, considering the
factthat I sourced your profile from a human resource profile database
on your country. Though, I do not know to what extent you are familiar
with events. Well, I am Mark Johnson. a Solicitor and the Personal
Attorney to Late Mr. Andrew Saleilles, a national of your country, who
used to work as the Director of Societe Nationale pour la Promotion
Agricole(SONAPRA), the major national cotton production company in
Benin Republic.

On the 1st of Oct 2007, my client, His wife and their three Children
were involved in a car accident Along express-high way. Unfortunately,
they all lost their lives. Since then I have made several enquiries to
your Embassy to locate any of my client's extended relatives, this has
also proved unsuccessful.

After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his
relatives over the Internet to locate any member of his family but to
no avail, hence, I contacted you to assist in repatriating the money
and property left behind by my client before they get confiscated or
declared unserviceable by the Bank here. These huge deposits were
lodged particularly with the AFRICAN INVESTMENT BANK (AI B-SA), where
the Deceased had an account valued at about $17.000.000.00 (Seventeen
Million Dollars Only).

The Bank has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin or have the
account confiscated. Since I have been unsuccessful in Locating the
relatives for over Five years now, I seek your consent to present you
as the next of kin of the deceased since you have the same last name
with him so that the proceeds of this account valued about $
17.million dollars can be paid to you and then the sharing ratio
should be 50% for me and 50% for you, I have all the necessary legal
documents that can be used to back up with our claim we will make with
the Bank.

All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us seeing this Deal
through and I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate
arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.And the
way we are going to achieve this is as follows, I will need the
following information from you:

Your Full Name and Address,
Your Age,Occupation and Position,
Your Telephone and Mobile for Communication Purpose.

I await your reply true my Email address at ; officemarkesq2@gmail.com

Best Regards
Mark Johnson.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam