419 scam: "B. E. J" <rutledge-m@sbcglobal.net> CONFIRM THE RECEIPT IMMEDIATELY.

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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:

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. )
- "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. )
- "account opening" (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. )
- "million 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "united state of america" (this email uses bad English)
- "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "chambers" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "federal republic of benin" (Benin, Cameroon, etc. are no Federal Republics, unlike Nigeria where this type of scam was invented)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.
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: "B. E. J" <rutledge-m@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:22:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: CONFIRM THE RECEIPT IMMEDIATELY.

EKWUOEME CHAMBERS AND ASSOCIATES.
SOLICITE AT LAW/ ROUTE 792 CALAVI ABOMEY.
ESQ EKWUOEME CHAMBERS / ATTORNEY AT LAW
LOT/614 CALAVI AVEN.

DEAR CLIENT,

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I AM NOTIFYING YOU ABOUT THIS SAID FUNDS. AFTER DUE VETTING AND EVALUATION OF YOUR FILE THAT WAS SENT TO ME BY THE UNITED STATE OF AMERICAN EMBASSY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND CENTRAL BANK OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF BENIN. THIS FIRM HAS AN INSTRUCTION TO SEE TO THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF THE SUM OF (US$5 MILLION) OF YOUR CLAIM THAT HAS BEEN HOLDING IN DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT WITH FINANCIAL BANK OF BENIN.
I HAVE UNDERSTOOD FROM MY FINDINGS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH HARD WAYS BY PAYING A LOT AND NO ENDING CHARGES TO SEE TO THE RELEASE OF YOUR FUNDS (US$5 MILLION), WHICH HAS BEEN THE HANDWORK OF SOME MISCREANT ELEMENTS FROM THE CORRUPT OFFICIALS. I THEREFORE ADVICE THAT YOU STOP RESPONDING TO CORRESPONDENTS FROM ANY ORGANIZATION CONCERNING YOUR FUNDS BECAUSE; YOUR FUNDS ARE WITH FINANCIAL BANK. YOUR FURTHER COMMUNICATION WITH ANY ORGANIZATION WILL BE AT YOUR OWN RISK. BE CLARIFIED THAT THE (US$5MILLION) WILL REFLECT IN YOUR ONLINE ACCOUNT AS SOON AS YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTION AS AN EXPERIENCED LAWYER ACCREDITED BY US FOREIGN DEPARTMENT TO HANDLE THIS TRANSACTION AND ENSURE THE LEGITMACY OF THE PROCESS AND ACOMPLISHMENT.

SEQUEL TO THE OUTSTANDING PAYMENT OF $5,000,000.00 (FIVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS). I HAD A MEETING YESTERDAY WITH THE FINANCIAL BANK BOARD OF MANAGEMENTS WITH A SOLID AGREEMENT TO APPROVE AND OPEN AN ON-LINE ACCOUNT ON YOUR NAME WHICH WILL ENABLE YOU TO MAKE TRANSFER AND MANAGE YOUR FINANCES IN A MORE SECURED AND ACCESSIBLE WAY, IN ORDER NOT TO SUBJECT YOU TO THE SCRUTINY OF ANY FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION AND IT WILL BE MUCH EASIER FOR YOU TO MAKE TRANSFERS TO YOUR LOCAL ACCOUNT IN YOUR COUNTRY USING YOUR PERSONAL ONLINE ACCOUNT FROM FINANCIAL BANK PLC: BENIN.

MORESO, I FORWARDED QUESTIONS TO FINANCIAL BANK CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE AND I WAS TOLD THAT THE ONLINE BANK PROCESS IS VERY EASY AND HAS ENOUGH SECURITY AS THE ONLINE ACCOUNT OWNER WILL BE APPLYING SELF-SERVICE THROUGH THE INTERNET BANKING SYSTEM. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE ALSO TOLD ME THAT IF YOU CHOOSE TO OPEN AN ONLINE ACCOUNT, YOU ARE GIVEN THE OPTION TO PROVIDE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AS THUS;
1. YOUR NAME:
2. YOUR COUNTRY:
3. YOUR CITY:
4. YOUR ADDRESS:
5. YOUR AGE:
6. YOUR OCCUPATION:
7. YOUR MARITAL STATUS:
8. YOUR IDENTITY PHOTO:
9. YOUR PHONE & FAX NUMBER:
10. YOUR NEXT OF KIN:
11. YOUR NEXT OF KIN PHONE & FAX NUMBER:

AS FOR WHAT IT COST TO OPEN THE ONLINE ACCOUNT, THE FINANCIAL BANK CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE SAYS THAT THE MINIMUM AMOUNT TO OPEN THE ONLINE ACCOUNT IS $100 AND IT IS OF NO MAXIMUM AMOUNT. SO I SUGGEST WHILE SENDING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION TO ME, YOU SHOULD TRY TO INCLUDE THE ONLINE ACCOUNT OPENING COST OF $100 SO THAT I WILL AS WELL APPLY FOR THE ONLINE ACCOUNT OPENING ON YOUR BEHALF AS YOUR LAWYER RESPRESENTING YOU HERE IN BENIN REPUBLIC. THIS IDEA WILL HELP TO GET THE FUNDS US$5,000.000.00 STRAIGHT LOGGED INTO THE ONLINE ACCOUNT ONCE IT IS RELEASED FROM THE FOREIGN PAYMENT BUREAU CENTRE.

SEND THE US$100 THROUGH WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER TO;
CASHIER; MR.OKOLO SAMUEL
CITY / COTONOU
COUNTRY / BENIN REPUBLIC
QUESTION / WHAT TO DO?
ANSWER / SEND

I WILL BE WAITING FOR IMMEDIATE UPDATE WITH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND THE MTCN ONCE THE MONEY IS SENT TODAY. SEND ALL CORRESPONDENTS TO E-MAIL; ESQJULLEY@MAIL.KZ

YOURS IN SERVICE,

BARRISTER EKWUOEME JULLIANA.
ESQ EKWUOEME AND ASSOCIATES.
E-MAIL; ESQJULLEY@MAIL.KZ
E-MAIL; EKWUOEMECHAMBERS@MAIL.KZ

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam