What is the "Surplus Profit" email scam

What kind of email is "Surplus Profit"?

We have examined this email and concluded that it is a scam. The message is designed to appear as a business proposal from a bank manager offering to share millions of dollars in unclaimed funds. The scammers seek to trick recipients into engaging with them, after which they will demand escalating fees and personal information. This email should be ignored.

"Surplus Profit" email scam in detail

The email poses as a message from Ms. Serina Sankoh, who claims to be a manager at BOA Bank in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. She states that a surplus profit of $15,950,000.00 was discovered during the 2018/2019 financial annual report and placed in a suspense account with no beneficiary.

The sender says she cannot directly access the funds due to her bank position. She proposes a partnership in which the recipient would be listed as the official beneficiary, with a promised split of 40% for the recipient and 60% for the sender and her colleagues.

This is a classic advance-fee scam, sometimes known as a 419 scam. There is no surplus profit, no suspense account, and no money waiting to be transferred.

If anyone responds, the scammers will eventually demand upfront payments framed as processing fees, legal costs, taxes, or bribes needed to release the funds. Each payment leads to another excuse and another demand - the promised millions never arrive.

Scammers may also request personal documents such as passport copies or bank account details, which can be exploited for identity theft. BOA Bank has no connection to this email or the individuals behind it.

Email scams in general

The "Surplus Profit" email is a textbook advance-fee scam. There are no unclaimed funds, no bank manager with privileged access, and no legitimate deal on offer. Responding leads only to mounting fee demands and potential identity theft.

Scam emails of this nature are sometimes used to distribute malware as well. More examples of similar email campaigns are cPanel Final Account Upgrade State, FedEx Shipping Labels/Documents In PDF Format, and DHL Express Commerce Status Update.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails frequently carry malware in the form of malicious attachments or links. Common file formats include executables, Microsoft Office documents, PDF files, compressed archives, and script files. Opening these can trigger a malware installation chain.

Emails may also contain links to malicious websites that either automatically download harmful software or prompt users into doing so manually. In most cases, some level of user interaction is required - such as enabling malicious macro commands or running an included installer - before any malware becomes active.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with emails from unknown senders, especially those containing attachments or links. If a message seems unexpected or suspicious, do not open any files it contains and do not click any embedded links.

Download software only from official websites and reputable stores. Avoid pirated programs, cracks, and key generators, as these are frequently used to spread malware. Keep your operating system and all installed applications up to date.

Use reputable antivirus software and keep it updated. Do not allow untrusted websites to send browser notifications. If you have already opened a suspicious attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to eliminate any threats that may have been installed.

Text presented in the "Surplus Profit" email letter:

Subject: Transaction

Dear Sir,

My Name is Ms. Serina Sankoh ; Manager Of BOA Bank Abidjan Ci ; On the course of 2018/2019 Financial Annual Report, A Surplus Profit of Fifteen Million Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand Us Dollars , [ $ 15,950,000.00 ] Was Discovered and Placed in a SUSPENSE ACCOUNT Without Any Beneficiary.

As an Employee Of the Bank , I can NOT be Directly Connected to the Fund For Security Reasons, That is why I am contacting You for us to Work Together as Partners to Receive the Said Fund in Your Account For INVESTMENT in Your Country.

The percentage Ratio is thus: 40% for you , 60 % for me and my colleagues .

Note: There is Practically No Risks Involved in this Transaction , It is 100% Risk Free and Shall Be Legally Bounded, All You Need to do is to Stand as the BENEFICIARY to the Deposit For a Proper Wire to Your Account .If you Find this Proposal Suitable For you, get back For Full Details and Procedures .

Best Regards .

Ms Serina Sankoh
Manager Boa -Ci

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Quick menu:

• What is Surplus Profit phishing scam?
• Types of malicious emails.
• How to spot a malicious email?
• What to do if you fell for an email scam?

Types of malicious emails:

Phishing Emails

Most commonly, cybercriminals use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into giving away their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information.

Such attacks are called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals usually send an email message with some popular service logo (for example, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon, Netflix), create urgency (wrong shipping address, expired password, etc.), and place a link which they hope their potential victims will click on.

After clicking the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or extremely similar to the original one. Victims are then asked to enter their password, credit card details, or some other information that gets stolen by cybercriminals.

Emails with Malicious Attachments

Another popular attack vector is email spam with malicious attachments that infect users' computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually carry trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.

In such attacks, cybercriminals' main goal is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, email messages usually talk about recently received invoices, faxes, or voice messages.

If a potential victim falls for the lure and opens the attachment, their computers get infected, and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.

While it's a more complicated method to steal personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs usually detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can get a much wider array of data and can collect information for a long period of time.

Sextortion Emails

This is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the webcam of the potential victim and has a video recording of one's masturbation.

To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). Nevertheless, all of these claims are false - users who receive such emails should ignore and delete them.

How to spot a malicious email?

While cyber criminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are some things that you should look for when trying to spot a phishing email:

• Check the sender's ("from") email address: Hover your mouse over the "from" address and check if it's legitimate. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft, be sure to check if the email address is @microsoft.com and not something suspicious like @m1crosoft.com, @microsfot.com, @account-security-noreply.com, etc.
• Check for generic greetings: If the greeting in the email is "Dear user", "Dear @youremail.com", "Dear valued customer", this should raise suspiciousness. Most commonly, companies call you by your name. Lack of this information could signal a phishing attempt.
• Check the links in the email: Hover your mouse over the link presented in the email, if the link that appears seems suspicious, don't click it. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft and the link in the email shows that it will go to firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0... you shouldn't trust it. It's best not to click any links in the emails but to visit the company website that sent you the email in the first place.
• Don't blindly trust email attachments: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and to view any documents there; if you received an email with an attachment, it's a good idea to scan it with an antivirus application. Infected email attachments are a common attack vector used by cybercriminals.

To minimise the risk of opening phishing and malicious emails we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows. 

Example of a spam email:

What to do if you fell for an email scam?

• If you clicked on a link in a phishing email and entered your password - be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Usually, cybercriminals collect stolen credentials and then sell them to other groups that use them for malicious purposes. If you change your password in a timely manner, there's a chance that criminals won't have enough time to do any damage.
• If you entered your credit card information - contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. There's a good chance that you will need to cancel your compromised credit card and get a new one.
• If you see any signs of identity theft - you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission. This institution will collect information about your situation and create a personal recovery plan.
• If you opened a malicious attachment - your computer is probably infected, you should scan it with a reputable antivirus application. For this purpose, we recommend using  Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
• Help other Internet users - report phishing emails to Anti-Phishing Working Group, FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, National Fraud Information Center and U.S. Department of Justice.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why did I receive this email?

These scam emails are sent in bulk to large numbers of recipients at once. Scammers collect addresses through data breaches, fake sign-up pages, purchased lists, and similar methods. The messages are not specifically targeted at any individual.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?

If you shared login credentials, change the passwords for all potentially affected accounts right away. If you disclosed sensitive personal data such as identification documents or banking details, contact the relevant institutions or authorities without delay.

I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?

It depends on the file type. Executable files tend to infect a device as soon as they are opened. Document-based files such as PDFs or Office documents often require additional user interaction, like enabling macros, before malware can activate.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

No. Simply reading an email does not expose your computer to malware. Infection only occurs when a user actively opens a malicious attachment or clicks a harmful link contained in the message.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing the vast majority of known malware. However, sophisticated threats may sometimes evade initial detection, so running a full system scan is strongly recommended.