419 scam: John Thomas Kofi <zbellaobeng@gmail.com> Best regards

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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:
- ",500,000" (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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: John Thomas Kofi <zbellaobeng@gmail.com>
Reply-To: johnthomaskofi55@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2022 05:15:00 -0800
Subject: Best regards

I am Mr., the branch manager of a financial institution. This is John
Thomas. I am writing to ask for help in sending US$14,500,000.00 USD.
This fund is the excess earned from profits over the past year (i.e.
fiscal year 2021) at the branch where I am a manager. I have already
submitted my annual report to my head office in Accra-Ghana on the
24th of December, and I have watched with keen interest that they will
not be aware of this excess funding. I deposited an amount of USD
14,500,000.00 into an escrow code account without a beneficiary
(anonymous) to avoid tracking.

As a bank teller, I cannot connect directly to this money, so I must
ask for help to get this money into your bank account on my behalf. I
agree that 40% of this money will be for you as a foreign partner in
connection with the provision of a foreign account and that 60% will
be retained by you for me until you join me for further sharing and
investment. Plan in your country. I should emphasize that there is
very little risk associated with this.

thanks
John Thomas

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam