419 scam: Mariana Paul <marianapaul4567@gmail.com> CRYING FOR HELP

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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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "to your nominated bank account" (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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Mariana Paul <marianapaul4567@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Mariana Paul <p.mariana7865@outlook.fr>
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2016 23:02:27 +0900 (JST)
Subject: CRYING FOR HELP

Dear friend,

Happy new year to you and your families. My name is Mariana, i am 21 years old from Abidjan, Ivory Coast. My late father is a wealthy international businessman, he deal on Gold, Cocoa and Timber export, i'm the only child of my parents, I lost my mother when i was 6 years, my father is all i have until he was poisoned by his brothers due to his wealth, after the burial of my late father, life became hell to me because his brothers (my Uncles) claimed all my father's wealth and belongings as the tradition demands, according to the tradition of the land, if a man died without a son, even if the man has ten daughters all his wealth and belongings will be shared among his brothers and relatives, i believe this is the main reason why my father deposited the sum of $4.5 million USD in a bank without the knowledge of his brothers and made me the next of kin to the fund, My uncles planned to kill me thinking that i am going to revenge, that is why i ran out from
the family house so that i can secure my life and find a new foreign partner who can receive this money on my behalf that's why i contact you.

At the moment the money is in a bank here in Cote d' Ivoire and I have no access to put or withdraw any money from it according to the agreement my late father made with the bank during the deposit which stated that i must be 30 years of age before i can have a direct access to the fund, all I will require from you is to assist me stand as the present guardian and foreign associate of my late father so that the bank can release and transfer the money to your nominated bank account for investment purpose. My dad's lawyer advised me to look for a foreigner in any country of my choice who can stand as my gurdian so as to make it easier for the release and transfer of the fund.

I look forward to hear from you for more detail.

Have a nice day.

Sincerely yours,
Mariana.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam