419 scam: Edwin Mensah <oofficver@yahoo.pt> DEAL

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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 sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "top secret" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a scam)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Edwin Mensah <oofficver@yahoo.pt>
Reply-To: Edwin Mensah <emenssa@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 05:20:18 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: DEAL

Â Â Dear Sir/Madam,

First I must solicit your confidence in this transaction; this is by
virtue of its nature as being utterly Confidential and top secret. Though
I know that a transaction of this magnitude will make any one apprehensive
and worried, but I am assuring you that this is real and genuine.

My name is (EDWIN MENSAH). I am Regional Manager, Standard Chartered Bank
of Ghana Ltd, I am a Ghanaian, married with two kids. I am writing to
solicit your assistance in the transfer of (US.$15,000,000.00). This fund
is the excess of 2014 annual profit during the last year business
transaction.

I have already submitted an approved end of the year report for the year
2014 to my head office here in Accra-Ghana, and they will never know of
this excess.

I have since then, placed this amount of (US$15,000,000.00) on a suspense
account without a beneficiary. As the regional manager of the bank, I can
not be directly connected to this money thus I am impelled to request for
your assistance to receive this money into your bank account in your home
country.

I do need to stress that there are practically no risk involved in this.
It's going to be a bank-to-bank transfer. All I need from you is to stand
as the original depositor of this fund and i will give you directives on
how you can successfully claim this funds into your bank account with no
stress . After which i will forward an account where my share will be
wired into when the funds hits your account . No travel is required, This
is our sharing terms (70% to me & 30% to you)

If you accept this offer, I will appreciate your timely response by
sending your data as follows

1 Your Full Names.......................................
2,Your telephone Number.................................
3,Profession............................................
4,Age...................................................
5,Sex...................................................
6,Marital Status........................................
7,House Address.........................................

Best.Regards,
Edwin Mensah

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam