419 scam: Mr Ekene Ben <james_ben111@yahoo.fr> Mr Ekene Ben: Senior advocate.

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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. )
- "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. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "federalministeroffinace@w.cn" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
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 mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +22998983319 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: Mr Ekene Ben <james_ben111@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: federalministeroffinace@w.cn
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:45:43 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Mr Ekene Ben: Senior advocate.

Attention My Dear,
This federal government of Benin is here to notify you that your fundÂ worth of (US$1,500.000.00) which was diverted to Benin
government federation account due to your inability to afford the charges of this bank and company, today our president Yayi
Boni has given us an order to release all the funds and packages to the owners.
Â
The fund in question was diverted by bank and company located in this country republic of Benin according to them, they said
that the fund has officially overstayed the stipulated period of time, in accordance with the provisions and procedures of
their service acts and ethics of 2001 provided by the regulatory body in the country and passed into law by the attorney
general of the federation.
Â Â Â
The president general commented that all the fund has to be converted into atm master card so that it will be easy to deliver
it through government post office to avoid any problem again and the posting charges has been placed at the minimum amount of
us$145.00 so that each beneficiary can afford to pay the fee without any complain again.
Â
The president general also reported that hence the beneficiary could not comply with the subsequent charges of delivery the
atm card his/her atm master card will be cancelled, that is why he fixed the charges delivery charges at the minimum amount
of us$145.00 so that each beneficiary will get hold of his/her diverted fund through atm master card and the post office will
be forced to deliver your atm card master without delay.Â
Â
The informationâ€™s of the beneficiary is highly needed for confirmatory purposes and the post office has to verify if the
information details is correct before theÂ atm card shall be posted into the beneficiary address, the information confirm are
AS FOLLOW.
Â
Beneficiaries Name:___________
Age/Sex:______________________
Telephone number:_____________
Fax Number:___________________Â
A copy of your International Passport/driver licence:______________
Home Address:____________________
Occupation:______________________
YOUR ARE REQUIRED TO SEND THE US$145.00 AND FORDWARD YOUR INFORMATIONS THROUGH THIS EMAIL:(Â federalministeroffinace@w.cn)
Â
Send the money through Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gram with the information below,
Receiverâ€™s name==Mr Ojiakor Dibor
Countries== Benin Republic.
City== Cotonou .
Text Question== Zip Code
Answers== 00229.
Amount=US$145.00 00
MTCN=====?
Sender's Name===?
Â
So that we can personally go and submit your posting information to the post office we remain the federal government of Benin
republic, we fight against corruption and crimes for humanities.
Â
Yourâ€™s in service,
Mr Ekene Ben: Senior advocate.
Cotonou , BÃ©nin Republic.Â
TÃ©lÃ©phone number +229-98-98-33 -19

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam