Scam Money Transfer
Emails:
Mrs.Aminata
Ali
from
Cote
D`ivoire
(Ivory Coast)
and her son, Mustafa!
Below is a real example of another scam, this one from "Aminata Ali" (and her son Mustafa) from the Ivory Coast. Key passages that are clues to the scam are highlighted, such as poor grammar, poor punctuation, spelling errors, the money comes from a dead person (assassinated by rebels, no less!), blah, blah, blah. And here the poor widow, suffering from cancer, along with her ignorant (but seeking education) son, Mustafa, have selected you, at random, to receive their millions for them! Don't you feel special?
Also see these pages:
- Explanation of so-called "Nigerian" business deal and money scams
- What to do if you think you have been the victim of a scam
- How to report a scam
From: "aminata ali" <
aminata2221@hotmail.com >
Subject: My Dear Herbert
Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2007 21:08:17 +0000
From: Mrs.Aminata
Ali
&
her
son
Mustafa.
Abidjan,Cote
D`Ivoire.
West
Africa.
Tel:
+22505060938.
My
Dear
Herbert,
I am
Mrs.Aminata
Ali
from
Cote
D`ivoire
(Ivory
Coast).
I am
a
widow
being
that
I
lost
my
husband
some
year's
ago.
My
husband,late
Dr.
Ibrahim
Ali,
was
a
serving
director
of
the
Cocoa
exporting
board
until
his
death
.
He
was
assassinated
in september
(2003)
by
the
rebels
following
a
political
uprising.
Before
his
death,
he
had
a
foreign
account
here
in
Cote
D'Ivoire(Ivory
Coast)
up
to
the
tune
of
$5m
which
he
told
the
bank
was
for
the
importation
of
cocoa
processing
machine.However,due
to
my
bad
health
situation
occassioned
by
cancer,
i
wish
you
to
do
me a
favour
to
receive
this
fund
to a
safe
account
in
your
country
or
any
safer
place
as
the
beneficiary
so
that
you
will
invest
it
in a
good
business
venture
for
the
benefit
and
education
of
my son,Mustafa,
who
will
be
coming
to
stay
under
your
kind
custody
after
the
transfer
for
his
education
and
future
because
my
health
is
failing
me.
I
have
plans
to
do
investmen
ts
in
your
country,
like
real
estate
and
industrial
production.This
is
my
reason
for
writing
to
you.
Please
if
you
are
willing
to
assist
us
contact
my
son
Mustafa,
indicating
your
interest.We
have
mapped
out
75%
for
ourselves,
20%
for
your
cordial
assistance
and
5%
for
any
expenses
which
may
be
incurred
in
the
course
of
this
transaction.
Finally
if
you
have
any
question
regarding
this
transaction,
please
contact
us.
Please
note
that
the
confidentiality
of
this
transaction
would
be
highly
appreicated.
I
await
your
quick
reply.
Thanks
and
best
regards.
Mrs. Aminata
Ali
&
her
son
Mustafa.
Don't be an idiot. Do not reply to scam emails like the one above!
And please let us know about any suspicious calls or emails you receive. We look for patterns so that we can alert the authorities and victims to new scams, before it is too late!
For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.