419 scam: "Dr. Larry Johnson" <"www."@mist.ocn.ne.jp> Attn: My 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)
- "activation fee" (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. )
- "mtcn" (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. )
- "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)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Dr. Larry Johnson" <"www."@mist.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: officefiles557@web.cg
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2017 00:43:05 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Attn: My Dear Friend,

Attn: My Dear Friend,

My Name is Mr. Larry Johnson, a computer scientist working with Bank in Benin Republic.I just started work with Bank of Benin, and I came across your file
which was marked X and your released disk painted RED, I took time to study it and found out that you have paid much fees,but the fund was not released to you,
as I was going through your file i got your email address and i decided to contact you.

The most annoying thing is that they waon't tell you the truth that on no account will they ever release the fund to you,instead they will allow you to
spend money unnecessarily, I do not intend to work here all the days of my life, and As it stands now i have marked the disk blue but only money you will
send now is to reactivate your account and it will cost you $180 only. Meanwhile i told our general attorney and i also show him your file marked red
before he told me to mark it blue,he was very very angry with our officials today and promised that with $180 you will start receiving your money from our
Online Banking as fast you register online.

Here is our protocol officers name to send the $180 then get back to us immediately.

Receiver's First Name: DANIEL
Receiver's Last name: TAGBO
Country: Benin
City: Cotonou
Test Question: A
Answer: B
Mtcn....................

We most release this fund to you if you send this payment for the account re-activation, I and our attorney need to do this because you need to know the
statues of your Funds and because of the delay, you may not understand it, because you are not from Benin. The only thing needed to release this fund is
to reactivate your account and we will direct you to our Online Bank department they will give you access to your money in bank and you can use your hands to
transfer your money as fast as you can. Note that the actual funds you will receive is ($17.500,000.00).after you receive this email today try to get back
to us immediately so we can direct you to register with online Form to enable our bank give you access login to your money in the bank.

do this urgently and get back to us once you send the re-activation fee.

Best Regards

Mr. Larry Johnson
Do get in touch with me immediately through my direct email to conclude this transaction soonest ASAP

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam