419 scam: Matt Ohanian <mcm.mmm900@gmail.com> ATTENTION, 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:

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)
- "there is no risk involved" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Matt Ohanian <mcm.mmm900@gmail.com>
Reply-To: me434921@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2021 04:59:08 -0700
Subject: ATTENTION, DEAR FRIEND

--
Attention: Dear Friend.

How are you today? I am writing this letter to you because of how
important and urgent this proposal is. I am contacting you for this
opportunity and I hope we can work together.

Late Mr.Andrew Miller, who had a fixed deposit with my bank in 2018,
valued at (Fourteen Million Eight Hundred Thousand British Pounds) the
due date for this deposit contract was in November 2019. Sadly "Late
Mr.Andrew Miller was among the death victims of the corona-virus
pandemic in Osaka, Japan. He was in Japan on a business trip and the
pandemic broke out in Japan.

My bank management is yet to know about his death, I knew about it
because I am his account officer. Late Mr.Andrew Miller did not
mention any beneficiary in the fixed deposit agreement he had with the
bank, there is no risk involved because I am equally part of this
process therefore you can be assured that this process will be a
success for us. Waiting to hear from you.
Mr. Ohanian.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam