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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:

Fraud email example:

From: Terence Patrick McCulley <deliveryservice.peter59@gmail.com>
Reply-To: usambassadorbeninrepublic@qatar.io
Date: Sat, 2 Apr 2011 09:49:23 +0100 (BST)
Subject: ATTN: GOOD NEWS FOR YOU


ATTN: GOOD NEWS FOR YOU
 
United States Consulate General Benin Republic
2 Walter Carrington Crescent
Victoria Island, Benin.
 
Dear Sir
 
My name is Terence Patrick McCulley, the new United States Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Benin. The United States Senate had confirmed my nomination on August 5 2010 after being nominated for this position by U.S. President Barack Obama on June 28, 2010. My credentials as the new Ambassador appointed were presented to His Excellency President Yayi Boni
 
Yayi at the Presidential Villa in Benin, on November 2, 2010. I am a career member of the senior Foreign Service
 
with the rank of Minister-Counselor whose diplomatic career has been spent mostly in Africa or working on African issues. I served most recently as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, DenmarK. Prior to this, I was the U.S. Ambassador to Mali, and I have served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Tunisia, Senegal and Togo. Other
 
overseas postings include Niger, South Africa, India and Chad. In Washington, I was the senior desk officer for Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), and Deputy Coordinator for Iraq Assistance. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in European history and French language and literature in University of Oregon in Eugene, and I also attend the Universit? de Haute Bretagne
 
in Rennes, France, from 1979-1980 as a Rotary Foundation Graduate Fellow, and also attend the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. My identity can be verified by simply clicking on the URL link below:
 
http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/biography.html
 
PLEASE SEND YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER AND THE ADDRESS WHERE YOU WANT ME TO BRING THE PACKAGE.
 
(1)Full Name:................
(2)Address:..................
(3)Phone Number:.............
 
 
However, following the resolution of the meeting held with His Excellency President Yayi Boni at the Presidential Villa in Benin with some members of the Federal House of Senate, an agreement was reached that the sum of $500,000.00 USD must be paid out to you in the form of a compensation for all the years you have wasted in waiting for your funds to be released. Hence, the $500,000.00 USD compensation fund has been instructed to be paid out to you in the form of a CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL BANK DRAFT drawn on Oceanic Bank. The said BANK DRAFT will be packaged inside a U.S Embassy Official Envelope to be sent to you via Postal Mail at no cost to your mailing address. And the time frame for delivery is
 
72 hours, which is 3 days since it would be sent via a Postal Mail Service.
 
Meanwhile, a "Custom Clearance Certificate" must be obtained from the Benin Republic Customs Authority at a fee of $130.00 USD for a full clearance certification on the BANK DRAFT. Hence, the $130.00 dollar fee must be paid within 24 hours upon your receipt of this notification via western union or Money Gram, so that all necessary arrangement can be made ahead of time.

The fee should sent directly to the "Embassy Protocol Officer" with the below information:
 
 
Recipient's Name:............. John Obagha
Destination:..................Benin Republic
Test question:................Year
Test answer:..................2011
Amount: ......................$130.00 dollars
Mtcn 10 digits fill in here: ..............
 
Please take note that the "Custom Clearance Certificate" and the BANK DRAFT will be packaged together inside the U.S Embassy Official Envelope for immediate dispatch to your mailing address. Hence, you are advised to comply as requested to enable me discharge my official duty accordingly.
 
Congratulations!!!
Respectfully yours,
 
Terence Patrick McCulley
US, AMBASSADOR TO BENIN REPUBLIC

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