419 scam: "Virgin International"<info@virginint.co.uk> Your assistance is required.

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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "% of every payment" (Beware of any scheme that involves depositing checks or money orders or receiving wire transfers in your bank account and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere, for a percentage of 5-15% of the total. Such offers are *always* fraudulent and you will be liable for the entire amount when the checks, money orders or wire transfers turn out to be fraudulent. Any money already forwarded comes out of *your* pocket then. )
- "money order " (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. )
- "cheques " (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 company representative scam. This type of job offer scam involves the cashing of fake checks and money orders. It could expose you to losses of tens of thousands of dollars as well as to the risk of criminal prosecution and (in some cases) imprisonment.

Fraud email example:

From: "Virgin International" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <virginint@net-shopping.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2012 17:54:44 +0100
Subject: Your assistance is required.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please can I have your attention for a moment? Would you
like to work online from home/temporarily and get paid weekly?
Virgin International is a company based in Uk and we are into
Manufactures of Fabrics and Textiles with numerous customers home and
abroad. We produce various clothing materials, batiks, assorted
fabrics and traditional costume We need a representative who will be in charge
of all our payment from clients/customers in the United States.

Most of our customer from the states pay through certified
cheque, cashier cheques and money order which are not negotiable here
in the UK. And bank wire transfer takes a considerable length of time to get to
a UK bank. This brings our quest to employ a credible and trustworthy
fellow as our representative to handle our payments. This would not
affect your present job but serve as another stream of income to your
good self. Being our representative and assisting us in processing the
payments from our clients, we will pay you weekly salary and shall earn
about 10% of every payment you assist us with because due to the fact
that we cant cash the money order upon receipt here in the UK
immediately, in the past we have lose about 75,000 USD of net income
each month because of money transfer delays. Your task is to
coordinate payments from customers and help us with the payment
process. You are not involved in any sales. Our sales manager sells
products.

After this has been done, the customer has to pay for the products.
We have decided to open this new job position for solving this problem.

Your tasks are;

1. Receive payment from Customers
2. Cash it at your Bank
3. Deduct 10% which will be your percentage/pay on Payment processed
4. Forward balance after deduction of percentage/pay to any of the
offices you will be contacted to send payment to.

For example you've got 3000.00USD
You take your income: 320.00 USD
Send to us: 2680.00 USD.

Mode of Remittance will be provided to you in due time.

First month you will have 15-20 transactions ranging from $1,200-$1,000,000
So you may calculate your income. For example 18 transactions on 3500.00
USD gives you 5610.00USD plus your basis monthly salary is 1000.00 USD
Total: 6610.00 USD per month. After establishing close co-operation
you'll be able to operate with larger orders and you'll be able to earn more.
Our payments will be issued out in your name and you get them cashed
in your bank deduct your weekly salary and forward the balance to the
company.

We understand it is an unusual and incredible job position. This job
takes only 3-7 hours per week.
You'll have a lot of free time doing another job, you'll get good
income and regular job. This job is not very challenging and you
should understand it. We are looking only for the worker who satisfies
our requirements and will be an earnest assistant. We are glad to
offer this job position to you. If you feel that you are serious
about this and earnest worker, All we will need are:

Your Full Name: ______________________________
Your Complete Address (Physical Address with Zip Code not
P.O.BOX) : ______________________________
Name of City of Residence:_______________________________
Country:____________________________________
Direct Telephone Number:____________________________________
Mobile
Number:____________________________________
Number:___________________________________
Occupation:_______________________________

They will start making payments to you as the company's representative in the
United States.

Best Regards,
Ms Jessica Bow
Virgin Business Ltd
Email: virginint@net-shopping.com

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam