419 scam: "MR. PHILIP COHEN"<infophilipcohen2003@gmail.com> OFFICIAL LETTER 23\01\2017

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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)
- "might come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "infophilipcohen@safrica.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "infophilipcohen@safrica.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "MR. PHILIP COHEN"<infophilipcohen2003@gmail.com>
Reply-To: philipcohen2003@outlook.com
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2017 11:57:19 +0200
Subject: OFFICIAL LETTER 23\01\2017

Tel: +27- 833-683-978
E-Mail: infophilipcohen@safrica.com

Dear Sir/Madam,

This proposal might come to you as a surprise, since it is from someone you do not know or have seen before, but based on faith, I had to contact you believing that you are reputable and as such you cannot run away with my own share of this money when concluded.

I am MR. PHILIP COHEN the director and coordinator of the Finance Contract Department of Minerals and Energy with South Africa Government. The crux of this letter is that the finance / contract department of the DME deliberately over-inflated the contract values of various contract awarded. In the course of disbursement, I was able to track down the sum of US$25 Million as the over invoiced sum. This money is now floating in the DME domiciliary account with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

I want to quickly transfer this fund to a safe nominated foreign account for possible investment abroad. We are not allowed as a matter of government policy to operate any foreign account because of our status as civil / public servants. Hence the needs to solicit for a partner abroad to enable me transfer this money into your bank account abroad. Upon your acceptance of this proposal, I will like us to share the funds in the following sharing percentages

1. 40% for you as the account owner
2. 55% for me
3. 5% will stand for any expenses we might come up during the transfer process including all the international phone call cost.

I be coming over to your country when the money is finally transferred into your designated bank, and I be relying on your advice as regards to investment after our mutual sharing based on the percentage agreed. Be informed that this transaction is 100% risk free.

Please get back to me as soon as you can for more details or delete this email message if you are not interested in my proposal.

Yours Faithfully,
MR. PHILIP COHEN
E-Mail: infophilipcohen@safrica.com

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam