Advance Fee Fraud: Miss Odette Amon

This is a relatively new form of advance fee fraud that's starting to proiferate. Instead of the all-too-common story about millions of dollars that need discreet repatriation, we have a random young lady showing an interest in my profile. If I reply to this, I'll commence communication with a virtual nymph who wants to travel to my country, but needs financial assistance (and more financial assistance, and more financial assistance, and so on). She'll even send me a photo -- it will be a photo of a model lifted off the Internet somewhere, not a photo of "her".

This is noteworthy in that the address to which it was sent is the one I have on my personal home page, and that address is protected by Javascript. That is usually a very effective way of keeping unwanted harvesters from noticing the address, but in this case the address isn't a harvested one: the sender obtained it manually. The message was sent through Yahoo! mail on Mon, 12 Dec 2005 12:24:19 +0000, and the sender was at 213.136.127.190 (Adsl-213-136-127-190.aviso.ci -- West Africa strikes again). According to my web server logs, I've had a visitor from that address. The visitor arrived through a totally unrelated web search, read my web page for a while, then clicked through to my personal home page. The 419 arrived some 25 minutes after that.

You have to hand it to these 419ers -- they can take a really personal interest in defrauding you.

            Dearest one,

  My name is Miss Odette Amon, I am 21 years old. I do went through your profile and I like it, I will be very happy, if you can contact me through my private mail box: odetteamon3(at)yahoo dot com, because I have something very important to share with you, if you don't mind. Or provide me your mail address to enable me pass the message to you and I also promised to send you my pictures immediately I confirm your mail.

  Thanks and remain blessed

  Miss Odette Amon.

Maybe I should reply to "Miss Odette Amon", even if he is a naughty scammer from the Ivory Coast.

Update 2005-12-13 09:56

This is starting to look like the more traditional 419 now. The reply I have received is as follows.

Dearest Beloved One,

Many thanks for your prompt response to my message; I appreciate your kind gesture to find time to give response to my message.

I am very sorry for coming to you in this way and inconvenience this mail may cause you but I believe firmly that through the basis of humanitarian assistance my plea will be threaten with favorable attention.

I am MISS ODETTE AMON the only daughter of late MR and MRS ABUDL AMON whom was killed by the rebels that attacked our country Cote d 'Ivoire (West Africa) and took over our town (BOUAKE).

I ran to Abidjan the economical capital of Cote d 'Ivoire from were I am contacting you. Before the death of my father he told me that he has a sum of US$4.5, 000,000 (Four million five hundred thousand united states dollars) kept in a Local Bank here in Cote d' Ivoire in my name as the next of kin.

Sir, in the capacity of the next of kin, I am contacting you with due sense of humanity and responsibility and with few awareness that you will give it a sympathetic and mutual consideration.

Now permit me to ask these few questions: -
(1) Can you honestly help me as a guardian?
(2) Can I completely trust you?
(3) What percentage of the total amount in question will be good for you after the money is in your account?
(4) To make arrangement for me to come over to your country to further my educational career and to secure a residential permit for me in your country.

(5) To provide good investment plans for the fund and to manage the fund.

Furthermore, you can indicate your option towards assisting me as I believe that this transaction would be concluded within a stipulated period of time you signify your interest to assist me.

Anticipating hearing from you immediately.

Thanks and God bless.

Yours Sincerely

Miss Odette Amon

It hardly seems worth replying.