419 scam: "Terence P. McCulley" <terencemcculley4@att.net> UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA

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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:
- "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. )
- "money gram" (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. )
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "abuja" (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.
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.
- terencemcculley@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Terence P. McCulley" <terencemcculley4@att.net>
Reply-To: <terencemcculley@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2010 16:02:59 +0100
Subject: UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA

New Page 9

UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA
11 GARIKI ROAD ABUJA
ABUJA, NIGERIA
Telephone: +234-1-7763854
E-mail: terencemcculley@aol.com
Website: http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/biography.html

DEAR BENEFICIARY, THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY, HAVE RESOLVED ON
7TH OF DECEMBER 2010, TO CANCEL YOUR PAYMENT OF $3.5 MILLION USD FOR NON

COMPLIANCE TO THE TERM OF DELIVERY. REGARDS TO SENDING THE REQUIRED PAYMENT

THAT WILL ENABLE THE DELIVERY OF YOUR PACKAGE.

SEND THE FEE VIA MONEY GRAM OR WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER WESTERN UNION
MONEY TRANSFER PAYMENT INFORMATION STATED BELOW:

RECEIVER'S NAME: NKADI PATRICK
ADDRESS: ABUJA - NIGERIA
TEXT QUESTION: GOD IS
ANSWER: GOOD

WE ADVISED THAT YOU SEND THE PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY OR FILL THE ATTACHED PAYMENT

CANCELLATION FORM.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam