419 scam: MARIA PAPASOZOMENOU <corfulanguages@gmail.com> THIS IS YOUR PAYMENTS INFORMATION

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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. )
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: MARIA PAPASOZOMENOU <corfulanguages@gmail.com>
Reply-To: alex.sitwell@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 07:41:01 -0800
Subject: THIS IS YOUR PAYMENTS INFORMATION

Dear ,

We have decided to get your funds to you through western union money
transfer to you.

We have also taken the first step in doing so by reaching an agreement
with the management of the western union to send you $5,000 daily.

THIS IS YOUR PAYMENTS INFORMATION .
https://wumt.westernunion.com/asp/orderstatus.asp?country=global
SENDER NAME FIRST NAME: Titus Peter
SENDER LAST NAME: Johnson
MTCN , 0716526026
QUESTION, HOW MUCH
ANSWER, 5000
AMOUNT, $5000

The agreement was that, in any of this payments that we make to you,
you will first send an agreement fee of $400 before picking it up from
any of the western union locations near you. To track and confirm
status of this transfer to you, kindly visit
https://wumt.westernunion.com/asp/orderstatus.asp?country=global

Then enter the sender's first name and last name and also the MTCN
number as listed above.

Kindly get back to me for instruction to send the agreement fee as
soon as possible.

Regards,
Mr. Alex Wilmot-Sitwell

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam