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Fraud: Supply Prospect | Josephine Braimah of Transpacific Biochem Logistics Manager

· 3 min read
Jagdish Kumawat
Jagdish Kumawat
Founder @ Dewiride

At a glance

Verdict
FraudDraw the recipient into a fictitious Ghana Health Ministry supply contract as a confidential 'business front', setting up later advance-fee demands.
Subject line
Supply Prospect
Claimed sender
J. Braimah direzione.sportiva@sslazio.itReply-to: transpacificlaboratoryghana@gmail.com
Impersonates
No real organisation or personPersona: Dr Josephine Braimah (Madam), Materials Logistics Manager, Transpacific BioChem Ghana, under the Ghana Health Ministry
Received
not recorded · Published
Related analyses

The header has no date line. The To field shows a third-party address (marco.caruso@arnascivico.it) labelled with the sender's own name, so the real recipients were likely in Bcc.

Evidence: the message as received plus passive registry lookups; links and attachments are not opened. How we analyse a scam email.

I am Josephine Braimah of Transpacific Biochem Logistics Manager, under Ghana Health Ministry; I hope to explore a huge supply prospect with you involving our company.

Complete Email​

from: J. Braimah <direzione.sportiva@sslazio.it>
reply-to: transpacificlaboratoryghana@gmail.com
to: "J. Braimah" <marco.caruso@arnascivico.it>
subject: Supply Prospect
mailed-by: sslazio.it

Email Body​

Very Good morning and happy new week to you Sir
Grateful to reach you here and now.

I am Josephine Braimah of Transpacific Biochem Logistics Manager, under Ghana Health Ministry; I hope to explore a huge supply prospect with you involving our company operations director as he plans to visit India soonest to find a reliable firm to undertake and reactivate Our 2-Year renewable Indian Raw-material Supply contract with Our Health Ministry here in Ghana; But if I can confide the details with you, we can explore it for much greater good.

I hope to find a reliable business front in India, with whom to secure this huge prospective contract and keep it wrapped up and also long-term between us. Let me know if we can work this out together in confidential trust, then send me your Contact Number in your email reply; so we can proceed in good faith.

Dr Josephine Braimah (Madam)
Materials logistics Manager @Transpacific BioChem-Gh
Thema Industrial Village, AgroBio- Allied Zone Box-7447, Gt 566 TA 00 Tema, Ghana

Attacking email screenshot

Red Flags​

Red Flags Identified in the Email:​

  1. Suspicious Email Addresses:

    • Sender's Email: direzione.sportiva@sslazio.it (an Italian football club domain, unrelated to Ghana Health Ministry)
    • Reply-to Email: transpacificlaboratoryghana@gmail.com (generic Gmail address, not an official government or business domain)

  2. Unsolicited Business Proposal:

    • The email proposes a large business deal out of the blue, which is a common tactic in scam emails.

  3. Request for Confidentiality and Personal Information:

    • The sender asks for your contact number and emphasizes confidentiality, which is typical in advance-fee frauds.

  4. Inconsistent and Unverifiable Details:

    • The sender claims to represent a Ghanaian government entity but uses unrelated or unverifiable contact information.
    • The use of multiple unrelated email addresses is suspicious.

  5. Emotional Manipulation and Urgency:

    • The email appeals to trust and confidentiality to pressure the recipient into responding quickly.

  6. Grammatical Errors and Unprofessional Language:

    • The message contains awkward phrasing and grammatical mistakes, which are common in scam emails.

  7. Lack of Professionalism:

    • No official documentation, letterhead, or verifiable credentials are provided.

Conclusion and Recommendations:​

This email exhibits multiple red flags typical of business email compromise (BEC) or advance-fee fraud scams. It is advisable to:

  • Do Not Respond: Avoid replying or providing any personal or business information.
  • Do Not Click on Links or Download Attachments: There may be malicious content.
  • Report the Email: Mark as spam/phishing and report to your organization's IT/security team.
  • Delete the Email: Remove it to prevent accidental interaction.
  • Educate Your Team: Make others aware of such scams to prevent future incidents.

Additional Tips:​

  • Verify Unsolicited Proposals: Always verify the sender and their claims through official channels.
  • Be Skeptical of Confidentiality Requests: Scammers often use secrecy to avoid scrutiny.
  • Stay Informed: Keep up to date with common scam tactics and educate your team.

Always exercise caution with unsolicited business proposals, especially those involving confidential information or large sums of money.

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