419 scam: Mike Johnson <addoakoif@yahoo.com> FROM A FRIEND MIKE , ATM VISA ELECTRONIC GOLD CARD.

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

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

Fraud email example:

From: Mike Johnson <addoakoif@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: mikejohnson.atmcard@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:54:29 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: FROM A FRIEND MIKE , ATM VISA ELECTRONIC GOLD CARD.

DEAR FRIEND,

GOOD EVENING, HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY DOING I HOPE ALL WELL, WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR THE GIFT OF LIFE, I'M MR. MIKE JOHNSON, THE ATM VISA GOLD CARD MANAGER OF THE CAL-BANK OF GHANA , ACCRA GHANA LTD. I AM A 49 YEARS OLD BLESSED WITH TWO LOVELY KIDS. I AM A MAN OF PEACE AND I DON T WANT PROBLEMS, I ONLY HOPE YOU CAN ASSIST ME. IF YOU DON T WANT THIS PROPOSAL YOU CAN AS WELL FORGET I EVEN CONTACTED YOU, I HAVE PACKAGED A FINANCIAL TRANSACTION THAT WILL BENEFIT YOU AND I, AS THE MANAGER OF THE CAL-BANK VISA GOLD CARD DEPARTMENT, IT IS MY DUTY TO SEND IN A FINANCIAL REPORT TO MY HEAD QUARTER.

BUT IN THE COURSE OF 2008 FISCAL REPORT, I DISCOVERED THAT MY BRANCH IN WHICH I AM THE MANAGER MADE ($25,000,000.00 USD) WHICH MY HEAD OFFICE ARE AWARE OF, BUT NOW I AM LOOKING FOR A PARTNER THAT WILL STAND AS THE BENEFICIARY OF THIS FUND, I HAVE PLACED IN WHAT WE CALL "ESCROW CALL".AS AN OFFICER OF THIS BANK I CANNOT BE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THIS MONEY, SO MY AIM OF CONTACTING YOU IS TO ASSIST ME RECEIVE THIS MONEY THAT WILL BE TRANSFERRED INTO THE ATM VISA GOLD CARD AND GET 40% OF THE TOTAL FUNDS AS COMMISSION.

THERE ARE PRACTICALLY NO RISK INVOLVED, THE MONEY WILL BE TRANSFERRED INTO AN ATM VISA GOLD CARD. ALL I NEED FROM YOU IS TO STAND CLAIM AS THE ORIGINAL BENEFICIARY OF THIS FUND, WHO MADE THE DEPOSIT WITH MY BRANCH SO THAT MY HEAD QUARTER CAN ORDER THE TRANSFER INTO THE ATM VISA GOLD CARD FOR YOU WITH A NEW INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNT; WHICH IS NOW THE FASTEST MEANS OF TRANSFERRING MONEY FROM GHANA. IF YOU ACCEPT TO WORK WITH ME I WILL APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH.

KINDLY RESPOND TO ME IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK WE CAN WORK TOGETHER SO THAT WE CAN GO OVER THE DETAILS, YOU CAN MAIL ME FOR MORE EXPLANATION.THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY,

YOURS TRULY,
MR. MIKE JOHNSON,
ATM VISA GOLD CARD DEPARTMENT MANAGER,
CAL BANK LTD, ACCRA GHANA.
TEL;+233-243665240

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam