419 scam: "Frank Seegers"<spam@tdsi.nus.edu.sg> Proposal.

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "western union" (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. )
- "you are required to pay " (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. )
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "deadline" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cashier's check" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
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.
- +2347026214249
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- oagfnig@accountant.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: <oagfnig@accountant.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:29:58 -0500
Subject: Proposal.

Dear Friend,

This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly completed an Investigation with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you have legally won the sum of 800,000.00 British Pounds Sterling outside the United Kingdom. During our investigation we discovered that your e-mail won the money from an Online Balloting System held for Fraud Victims and we have authorized this winning to be paid to you via a Certified Cashier's Check.

Normally, it will take up to 10 business days for an International Check to be cashed by your local bank. We have successfully notified this company on your behalf that funds are to be drawn from a registered bank within the United States so as to enable you cash the check instantly without any delay, henceforth the stated amount of 800,000.00 British Pounds Sterling has been deposited with Barclays Bank.

We have completed this investigation and you are hereby approved to receive the winning prize as we have verified the entire transaction to be Safe and 100% risk free, due to the fact that the funds have been deposited at Barclays Bank you will be required to settle the following bills directly to the Agent in-charge of this transaction which is located at the Office of The Accountant General of The Federation in Lagos, Nigeria. According to our discoveries, you are required to pay for the following -

(1) Deposit Fee's ( Fee's paid by the company for the deposit into a UK Bank which is - Barclays Bank )
(2) Cashier's Check Conversion Fee ( Fee for converting the Wire Transfer payment into a Certified Cashier's Check )

You shall hereby be paying a sum of 200 British Pounds Only.

To effect the release of your fund valued at 800,000 Great British Pounds Sterling you are advised to
contact the accountant at the Ministry of Finance in Africa at informations below"

Name: Dankwambo Ibrahim Hassan (Accountant of The Federation)
E-MAIL ADDRESS: oagfnig@accountant.com
Phone Number: +2347026214249
Website: Http://oagfnig.org/oagfourpeople-agf.htm

You are adviced to contact him with the informations as stated below:

Your full Name..
Your Address:..............
Home/Cell Phone:..............

Below are few list of tracking numbers you can track from UPS website to confirm
people like you who have received their payment successfully.

Name : Donna L. Vargas: UPS Tracking Number: 1Z757F991598420403 (www.ups.com)
Name : Rovenda Elaine Clayton: UPS Tracking Number: 1Z757F991596606592
(www.ups.com)

Upon receipt of payment the delivery officer will ensure that your package is
sent within 24 working hours. Because we are so sure of everything we are giving
you a 100% money back guarantee if you do not receive payment/package within the
next 24hrs after you have made the payment for shipping.

You will also be required to request Western Union details on how to send the required 200.00 British Pounds Sterling in order to immediately send your prize of 800,000.00 British Pounds Sterling via Certified Cashier's Check drawn from Barclays Bank, also include the following transaction code in order for him to immediately identify this transaction.

Transaction : Code : (EA2948-910)

You need to act in an expedite manner below is yesterdays news, a mstery lottery ticketing winner who has just six days left to claim their life changing winnings of £3,681,197

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100316/tuk-could-it-be-you-deadline-for-jackpot-45dbed5.html

Frank Seegers

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam