419 scam: Florida Custom Verification Department <deskofficiall@sify.com> parcel.

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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. )
- "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. )
- "cotonou" (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: Florida Custom Verification Department <deskofficiall@sify.com>
Reply-To: info.floridacustomdepartm@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:33:40 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: parcel.

        Florida Custom Verification Department

               12445 East Caley Avenue Centennial, CO 80111-6432. Miami, Florida. Usa.

                                                 General Phone: (305) 536-7458

                                                  Phone Number : (703) 389-4200

                                                  Fax: (703) 221-4200



Attention Please .

With reference to the
delivery of your package, I wish to bring to your notice that your
package has been placed on hold by our office the Florida Custom
Verification Department for some reasons which happened to violate the
shipping policies. As the goods were brought on custom clearance point
in Florida Int'l Airport Usa, then for further destination to your said
address at the check point, the Florida Custom Verification Department
detected that undeclared currency were concealed in your parcel.
Thereby, certain commissions must be paid as customs uty via us which is
for the immediate clearance of your package Atm card . For the main
time refer on the " status" of your Atm package during tracking , this
is in accordance to the mode of operations in the Courier sector for
financial delivery . We have already taken order number for these
packages from the custom.You are required to follow all instructions
giving to you to facilitate the release of your package.

To do this, you are
required to pay the required charges listed below for the immediate
release of your package. Upon confirmation of payment, your package will
be delivered to your destination under hours from Usa, Florida to your
destination address this morning.

Outstanding Charges:

Administrative: $45

Clearance: $52

TOTAL: $97

A total of $97

(Ninty seventy United
States Dollars only) has been charge. In acknowledgement to this email,
you have to rush to western union or money gram to send the the total
fee of $97 only with the below details as stated above for the release
of your package:

Senders Name_________

Receivers Name____Emeka W. Onwukwe______

Question______What For?_

Answer___Verification____

Country____Benin Republic_____

City______Cotonou____

Amount____$97_____

MTCN___________

Present your order
number when calling so that we may honor your calls Remeber to send us
your full details so that there will be no erro in getting your card to
your destination address. We are glad to be of service to you.

Thank you, as I hope I have made my self clear to you by this notice as directed by the management.

Waiting to hear from you soon.

Best Regards

Peter A. Quinte

International Trade Department of the international law firm of Becker & Poliakoff.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam