419 scam: "Mrs. Rose Williams," <officeusers3-----8@att.net> From Mr. Hill John

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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. )
- "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. )
- "you are required to pay " (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. )
- "vat (5%)" (VAT rate in the UK is 17.5%, check the math)
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
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: "Mrs. Rose Williams," <officeusers3-----8@att.net>
Reply-To: dr.kingsleymoghalu31@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:13:52 -0800 (PST)
Subject: From Mr. Hill John

From Mr. Hill
John
Senior Secretary Of
Mrs. Rose Williams, Director General Oil Company.

Attn:
Beneficiary,

I am Sorry for late response, This
is to acknowledge the receipt of the instruction given by MRS. ROSE WILLIAMS to
send your Certified Bank cheque of (US$850.000.00). She instructed that as soon
as you contact me, I should forward the cheque to you through Courier
Company.

I have been at the courier company to confirm modalities of
registering and dispatching your cheque to you. All modalities for delivery of the cheque to
you I found & the prices is as follow: acclaimed courier companies such as
DHL, UPS and FEDEX.

Below are the necessary findings I
made from the courier companies for the dispatch of your cheque of US$850.000.00
Dollars to you. Here is the cost of sending your cheque through any of these
Express
courier services
and the cost from here to your country. You are required to pay one of the
necessary courier charges to enable me send your cashier cheque immediately to
you.

Please these are the preferred channels of
delivery I confirmed, make your choice and get back to me
today.

----------------------------------------

DHL(1working
days)
DHL
| Global

www.dhl.com/

Mailing
$100.00
00.00

Insurance
$100.00
00.00

Vat (5%)
$75.00
00.00

TOTAL
$275.00
00.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

FedEx(2working
days)
FedEx
| Track

Mailing
$100.00
00.00

Insurance
$35.00
00.00

Vat (5%)
$10.00
00.00

TOTAL
$145.00
00.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPS(3working
days)
UPS
Global Home
www.ups.com/

Mailing
$80.00
00.00

Insurance
$35.00
00.00

Vat (5%)
$10.00
00.00
TOTAL:
$125.00         00.00

It is pertinent to note that this payment is
not negotiable so select any of your affordable courier fee and send it through
Western
Union Money
Transfer
today with the name of my secretary as stated below:

Receiver's name: Okechukwu
Chibike
Receiver's City: Cotonou
Receiver's Country: Benin
Republic.
Test Question: What Color?
Answer: Blue.
Sender's Name:
MTCN Number#.

Be informed that your cheque will be delivered
to your address within 72 hrs of dispatch, as the courier companies I visited
informed me. Therefore I expect you to send the money today so that I will
dispatch your cheque today. Send the payment information to me as soon as you
made the payment. On receipt of the delivery cost today, I will proceed
immediately to the courier company of your choice and send the cheque without
delay and forward the tracking number to you.

I wait to receive the payment information
today.

Best
regards,
Mr. Hill
John.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam