419 scam: "ATM PAYMENT REWARD CENTRE"<info@atm.com> ATM PAYMENT REWARD CENTRE

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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. )
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "lagos" (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.

Fraud email example:

From: "ATM PAYMENT REWARD CENTRE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <atm.payingoutlet.centre@live.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:46:01 -0500
Subject: ATM PAYMENT REWARD CENTRE

Dear Beneficiary,
This is to congratulate you for scaling through the hurdles of screening by the board of directors of this payment task force. Your payment file was approved and the instruction was given us to release your payment and activate your ATM card for use.

The first batch of your card which contains 1,000.000.00 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS has been activated and is the total fund loaded inside the card. Your fund which is in total 10,500.000.00 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS will come in batches of 1,000.000.00 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS and this is the first batch.

Your ATM card payment would be sent to you via UPS or FedEx, Because we have signed a contract with them which should be expiring soon. However, below are few list of tracking numbers you can track from UPS website(www.ups.com) to confirm people like you who have received their payment successfully. Feel free to track the items and see the results for yourselves.
LISA LAIRD ==============1Z2X59394196641913
POLLY SHAYKIN ==============1Z2X59394198817702
GLEN PAPANIKAS ==============1Z2X59394198690947
CAROL R BUCZYNSKI ==============1Z2X59394197862530
JOHNNY ALMANTE =============Z2X59394198080570
GARY METZGER ==============1Z2X59394195952759
KARIMA EMELIA TAYLOR ==============1Z2X59394198591527

Good news, we wish to let you know that everything concerning your ATM CARD payment dispatch is ready, we had a meeting with the house (Federal government of Nigeria) and we informed them that your fund should not cost you any thing because it's your money. Moreover, we have an agreement with them that you should pay only delivering of your card which is 280 U.S. DOLLARS by FedEx or UPS Delivering Company.

However, you have only two working days to send this 280 U.S. DOLLARS for the delivering of your card, if we don’t hear from you with the payment information; the Federal Government will cancel the card.

This is the paying information that you will use and send the fee through western union money transfer:
Name: Mrs Susan Palms
Address: Lagos-Nigeria
Question: Color
Answer: Green
Sender’s Name and Address:
MTCN…………………………

I wait the payment information to enable us proceed for the delivering of your card. ATTACHED IS COPY OF YOUR ATM CARD.

Best regards.

Mrs. Glen Wiston.
Director ATM Swift Card/Foreign Operation Dept,
Intercontinental Bank of Nigeria.
Cc: Central Bank of Nigeria CBN.
CC: Federal Bureau of Investigation
CC: National Central Bureau of Interpol

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam