419 scam: "MR Eric Kofi"<erickofi001@att.net> ASSIST ME

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)
- "a security company " (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. )
- "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)
- "erickofi01@live.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a orphan scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "MR Eric Kofi" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <erickofi01@live.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 03:02:50 -0700
Subject: ASSIST ME

Dear friend,

Please Permit me to inform you about my desire to seek for assistant from you and I have the believe that you are going to help me out successfully, but firstly let me introduce myself.

My name is MR Eric Kofi, the son of late Mr kofi Adams My father was a very wealthy Gold and Diamond merchant who based in Accra Ghana and I happened to be the only surviving child of my dad . Well when i was a kid i went to private school and things were going on well for me and my parents,till when i was in high school, after my mother died,My father took me so special because I am motherless, and he showered all his love on me and promised me that he will never have another woman because he did not want me to suffer in the hands of another woman so he never remarried.
But before the death of my father,in a private hospital here in Ghana,he called me secretly to his bed side and told me that he kept a sum of USD $12.500.000 (twelve million five hundred thousand united states dollars) in a security company here in Ghana.
Meanwhile that he used my name as the next of kin on the day of deposit of the fund, He also explained to me that it was because of this money that made his business partners to poisoned him,that i should seek for foreign partner in a country of my choice where i would transfer this money and use it for investment purpose,such as real estate investment or stock market investment.I am honorably soliciting your kind
assistance to process and receive this money into your nominated account abroad.I request your co-operation in this matter as I will be very grateful to discuss further terms of undertaking in this assistance.get back to me through my private email erickofi01@live.com

Thank you in anticipation of your kind co-operation.

Best regard
MR Eric Kofi

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam