419 scam: "Rita Kallou" <rita.kallou01@rediffmail.com> 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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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)
- "hundred thousand 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)
- "abidjan" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "remain blessed" (scammers in West Africa like to use religious phrases)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- rita.kalou1@yahoo.com.cn (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Rita Kallou" <rita.kallou01@rediffmail.com>
Reply-To: rita.kalou1@yahoo.com.cn
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 21:24:33 -0000 (GMT)
Subject: Dear Friend,

Dear Friend,

With sincerity, trust and honesty, I wish to inquire of your services to
be my foreign partner / investor and support me to transfer and manage my
funds by investing in profit making ventures like buying of company shares
in your country.
My name is Rita Kalou, the only daughter of late Mr & Mrs Charles kalou. I
inherited a sum of $8.400,000 (Eight million four hundred thousand united
states dollars) from my late father, the fund is presently in suspense
account in a bank here in Abidjan cote d'ivoire.
I am seeking for your kind assistance to contact the bank where the fund
was deposited and provide a safe bank account into where the money will be
transferred for investment, so that you can serve as a guardian of the
fund since I am under age to handle this, after the fund is transferred to
your country, you will make arrangement for me to come over to your
country to further my education and to secure a resident permit for me in
your country.I beg to concede 25% of the total money to you for your efforts
assistance. If you are really interested to help me in this matter, please
kindly reply to this email address: (rita.kalou1@yahoo.com.cn) Include
your telephone and fax number for easy communication.
May the grace of our almighty be with you.

Remain blessed

Rita Kalou.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam