419 scam: "THOMAS HARISON"<casuallivingfurn@aol.com> UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES

joewein.net

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:
- "clearance fee" (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. )
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "THOMAS HARISON" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <thomasharison_un@live.com>
Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 19:39:36 +0100
Subject: UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES

UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES

Internal Audit , Monitoring, Consulting and Investigations Division

5H087 Washington,DC 20233,

United States of America

http://www.un.org/en/index.shtml

ATTN: BENEFICIARY,

This is to inform you that I came to London yesterday from United States of America, after series of complains from the FBI and other Security agencies from Asia, Europe, Oceania, Antarctica, South America and the United States of America respectively, against the Federal Government of Nigeria and the British Government for the rate of scam activities going on in these two nations.

Right now, as directed by our secretary general Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, We are working in collaborations with British Scotland Yard and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). We have decided to waive away all your clearance fees/Charges and authorize the British Government to effect the payment of your compensation of an amount of $1,500,000.00 USD (One Million,Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) approved by both the British government and the UN into your account without any delay. The only fee you will pay to confirm your fund in your account is your Notarization fee for the transfer documents to the UN.

Sincerely, you are a lucky person because I have just discovered that some top Nigerian and British Government Officials are interested in your fund and they are working in collaboration with a bank in USA and one Mr. Roberts also from USA to frustrate you and thereafter divert your fund into their personal account.

I have a very limited time to stay in Europe here so I would like you to urgently respond to this message so that I can advise you on how best to confirm your fund in The Barclays Bank/master card account because your funds will be paid through an ATM card.

Regards,

Thomas Harison

Investigation Department (U.N).

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam