419 scam: miss susan <jen_martinez_24@yahoo.com> My Dear: Friend good day

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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:
- "western union" (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. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
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.
- misssusanmesnah@yahoo.com (Yahoo; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: miss susan <jen_martinez_24@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: misssusanm@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2012 04:52:16 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: My Dear: Friend good day

My Dear: Friend good day,

I am Miss Susan Mensah Citizen of Ghana, a Computer Analyst with Diamond Bank Western Union Of Benin. I am 38 years old, just started work with Diamond Bank Western Union of Benin. (D.B.B.) my dear, I came across your payment file which was marked X and your fund release Hard Disk painted RED, I took my time to study it and found out that you have really attempted to receive it but the fund has not been release to you.
The most annoying thing is that the directors and top officials of this nation cannot tell you the truth that on no account will they ever release the fund to you: instead they let you spend money unnecessarily.

I swear with my life that I do not intend to work here all the days of my life, I can release this fund to you if you can certify me of my security and how I can run away from this Country Cotonou Benin if I do this for you, I cannot run back to Ghana as they have all my information in Ghana, and if I don't run away from this country after I made the transfer to your bank account, I will be seriously in trouble and my life will be in danger

The only thing I will need to release this fund is a special HARD DISK, we call it HD120 GIG. I will buy two of it and it will only cost $115, recopy your information, destroy the previous one, and punch the computer to reflect in your bank account within 24 banking hours. I will clean up the tracer and destroy your file, after which I will run away from here Cotonou to meet with you in your country if you are interested. But you must assure me the absolute confidentiality of this deal before I can do any further.

You should reconfirm your current information as follows,

Your Full Names:
Current Home Address:
Current Telephone Numbers for easy communication:
Active Bank Details where you want the fund to be transferred into:

Regards,

Miss Susan Mensah
Computer Analyst
Central Bank of Cotonou Benin.
Urgent Reply (misssusanmesnah@yahoo.com)

Anti-fraud resources:

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