419 scam: "Dr. Chris Jega"<lanphe1@gmail.com> Dear Beneficiary,

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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:
- "demurrage " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "stamp duty" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "apex_courier@live.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +22505500918 (Cote d'Ivoire, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Dr. Chris Jega" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <lanphe@cantv.net>
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2009 18:54:08 +0200
Subject: Dear Beneficiary,

Dear Beneficiary,

Your Visa Card Is Now Ready.
Having reviewed all the obstacles and problems surrounding the transfer of your ($2.7 Million)
Two Million Seven Hundred and United State Dollars and your inability to meet up with some charges
levied against you due to the past transfer options,we the Board of Directors, Bank Of Africa
(BOA) have ordered our Foreign Payment Remittance Unit to issue you a VISA CARD where your
payment will be uploaded. Today, we got the notice that your Payment has been
uploaded into this VISA CARD and also have registered it with (APEX COURIER) And Delivery Company.

For your information, The delivery charges have been paid and they are supposed to
have shipped your packaged (ATM CARD) but they insisted that you must re-confirm to them
your current delivery address to ensure accurate Delivery.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Due to the content of the package, apex courier mandated that before
your package will be shipped, a Stamp Duty must be procured according to the New Shipping
Creed on all packages leaving Africa .The essence of such Document is to ensure a
hitch-free delivery and the amount of the Stamp Duty Fee is $150. When this is done,
Apex Courier will issue you with the tracking numbers for your package before the shipping
commences . Therefore reconfirm your current delivery address. Do not forget that this
$150 is all that you should send to them, the rest of the fees have been paid.

Finally, for security reasons, and considering the huge amount the ATM Card contains,
the package was coded thus,Registraion Ref:apexxx/atm/100.This is the code number that
you will send to the courier company while contacting them, and the courier company is
not aware what the content of the package is. We told them that it contained some very
vital official documents being sent to an offshore staff. Do not reveal the content of
the package to the courier company or any body for security purposes. The information
of the courier company is here-by given below,
APEX COURIER And Delivery Company
Email (apex_courier@live.com)

Tel:+225 05500918

Please hurry now as your package might incur demurrage if it
stays more than 3 days with apex courier,

Thanks,
Dr. Chris Jega
ATM Department Manager
Bank Of Africa

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam