419 scam: "Barrister Okoh Frank"<info@fci.co.ir> Dear Friend,

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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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. )
- "million united states 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)
- "% will be for you" (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)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a next of kin scam.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.

Fraud email example:

From: "Barrister Okoh Frank" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <frankokoh@legislator.com>
Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2014 16:02:12 -0800
Subject: Dear Friend,

Law Chamber Principal Attorney
Okoh Frank & Associates
20 Jones Nelson Road Adabraka
Nigeria Lagos.

Dear Friend,

Kindly accept my apology for sending unsolicited mail to you. I believe you
are a highly respected personality, considering the fact that 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 Barrister Okoh Frank, a Solicitor. I am the Personal Attorney to
Mr. Steve A. who used to work with GHANA NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION GHANA. On the 21st
of April 2003, his wife and their three children were involved in a car
accident along Accra Express Road.

Unfortunately, they all lost their lives in the event of the accident. Since
then I have made several enquiries to your Embassy to locate any of my
client's 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 left behind by my client in a Bank.

Particularly, the Finance House where the deceased deposited the US$15
Million (Fifteen Million United States Dollars only) knows me very well and
has ask me to present some one to claim the fund left my late client as they
all know I am his attorney.

Consequently, this Bank issued me a notice to provide the Next of Kin to
claim the US$15 Million (Fifteen Million United States Dollars only) in
their custody within the next ten official working days. Since I have been
unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over 5 years now, I seek your
consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased to claim the fund
as the Next of Kin to him so that the Bank will transfer the fund to your
account.

Upon receipt of the fund, I will come over to your country to meet with you
for the disbursement of the fund and then you and I will share the money in
this order: 70% will be for me, 30% will be for you. I have all the
necessary legal documents that can back our claim we may make with the Bank.

All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us seeing this deal
through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate
arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.

Best regards.
Okoh Frank
Principal Attorney

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