419 scam: "Robin R. Sanders"<robinsanders@att.net> Good News From Ms. Sanders.

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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:
- "activation 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. )
- "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. )
- "mtcn" (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. )
- "money transfer control number" (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. )
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
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.

Fraud email example:

From: "Robin R. Sanders" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <rsr.sander@googlemail.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:48:25 -0700
Subject: Good News From Ms. Sanders.

AMBASSADOR ROBIN RENEE SANDERS
US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA.
EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WALTER CARINGTON CRESCENT,
VICTORIA ISLAND, LAGOS NIGERIA
CONFIRMATION: +234 1 666 3090.

GOOD DAY TO YOU,

I SHALL BE COMING TO THE UNITED STATES FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING THIS WEEK SUNDAY BEING AUGUST 22, 2010 AND I WILL BE BRINGING YOUR FUNDS PART PAYMENT OF $3.5M ALONG WITH ME. THE MONEY WILL COME IN A VISA ATM CARD FULLY LOADED WITH THE AMOUNT MENTIONED ABOVE. THIS IS PART OF PLANS BY THE NEW PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA (DR. GOODLUCK JONATHAN) TO REPAIR ALL STRAINED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER RELATED COUNTRIES.

AS SOON AS I AM THROUGH WITH THE MEETING I SHALL THEN PROCEED TO YOUR ADDRESS (SEND YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER AND THE ADDRESS WHERE YOU WANT ME TO BRING THE PACKAGE) TO PERSONALLY HAND OVER THE ATM CARD TO YOU. YOU HAVE REALLY PAID SO MUCH IN THIS DELIVERY THAT MAKES ME WONDER. YOU ARE A VERY LUCKY PERSON BECAUSE I SHALL BE BRINGING IT MYSELF AND THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT.

THE CARD WITH FACE VALUE OF $3.5M WILL ONLY BE RELEASED TO ME AFTER THE PAYMENT OF $155 BEING ACTIVATION FEE,BE INFORMED THAT THE BANK WILL TAKE $55 WHILE $100 WILL BE ADDED TO YOUR BALANCE SO IN ACTUAL FACT WHAT YOU ARE PAYING IS $55 ONLY. THE FEE MUST BE PAID IN THE NEXT 50 HOURS VIA WESTERN UNION SO THAT THE CARD WILL BE ACTIVATED AND RELEASED TO ME BEFORE I EMBARK ON THE TRIP TO YOUR COUNTRY THIS COMING SUNDAY.

SEND THE FEE VIA WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER WITH THE NAMES OF PA BELOW:

RECEIVER'S NAME: JOHN UDO
ADDRESS: LAGOS NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION: HELLO
ANSWER: HI
AMOUNT:$155.00

AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE FEE MAKE SURE YOU SEND ME THE PAYMENT INFORMATION SUCH AS SENDERS NAMES, SENDERS ADDRESS AND MONEY TRANSFER CONTROL NUMBER (MTCN).

MY FLIGHT IS NEXT SUNDAY EVENING I EXPECT YOU TO COMPLY WITH ME BY SENDING THE ACTIVATION FEE BEFORE THEN , IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, THEN IT WILL NOT BE MY FAULT IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR CARD.

AMBASSADOR ROBIN RENEE SANDERS
US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam