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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "ATM CONSULTANTS" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ecobankalerts@yahoo.com.vn>
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:19:25 +0100
Subject: RE: ARE YOU AWARE OF THIS???


ATTN: BENEFICIARY,

WE ARE INSTRUCTED BY MINISTRY OF FINANCE, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF BENIN REPUBLIC IN CONJUNCTION WITH ORGANIZATION OF AFRICA UNITY (AU) AND UNITED NATION (UN) TO PROCESS YOUR OUT STANDING PAYMENT THROUGH ATM MASTER CARD. WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT (E-CO BANK FOR AFRICA ) BANK HAS ALL THE FACILITIES PUT IN PLACE IN OTHER TO TRANSFER YOUR MONEY WITH OUT DELAY. YOU ARE ADVICE TO CONFIRM YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IF YOU ARE STILL ALIVE BECAUSE I GOT A LETTER FROM ONE BARRISTER (EDWIN MANAFA) SAID THAT YOU ARE DEAD BUT DUE TO UNPRECEDENTED HAPPENING HERE I WAS INSTRUCTED TO WRITE YOU,

HAVING CALLED YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER WITHOUT ANSWER, THE MACHINE SAID THE LINE IS TEMPORARILY OUT OF SERVICE. YOUR EMAIL ID WAS RECOVERED FROM CENTRAL COMPUTER AFTER BEING DELETED BY CORRUPT OFFICIALS YET TO BE KNOWN TO DIVERT YOUR FUNDS AND RECEIVE THE ATM CARD. WITH THE ATM CARD YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE A WITHDRAW OF US$4,500.00 OR EQUIVALENT IN YOUR LOCAL CURRENCY IN ANY ATM MACHINE NEAR YOU. INFORMATION HAS IT THAT THIS AMOUNT WAS A KIND OF COMPENSATION BY THE GOVERNMENT TO PAY YOU BACK FOR MONEY YOU LOST WHEN YOU WERE SCAMMED.DUE CONSIDER IMPORTANT BY PROVIDING BELOW INFORMATION.

1).YOUR COMPLETE NAME.
2).HOME/COMPANY ADDRESS.
3).OFFICE/HOME TELL NUMBER.
4).YOUR TELL FAX.
5).YOUR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT OR YOUR DRIVING LICENSE.
6).YOUR OCCUPATION.
7).YOUR AGE.

AS SOON AS WE CONFIRM ABOVE DETAILS (E-CO BANK) INTER-CREDITING DEPARTMENT WOULD RESUME IMMEDIATE PROCESSING OF YOUR ATM MASTER CARD OR YOU CAN AS WELL BE PAID VIA CABLE WIRE TRANSFER AS YOU WISHED. ECO BANK FOR AFRICA BENIN REPUBLIC (ECO) WILL NOT IN ANY WAY BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY FALSE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY YOU.

NOTE: YOUR ATM CARD WILL BE PROGRAMMED WITH UNIVERSAL ACCESS OF WITHDRAWING. ONCE YOU RECEIVE YOUR ATM CARD YOU TAKE IT TO ANY ATM CASH POINT AROUND YOUR AREA, SLOT IT IN AND ENTER THE PIN/ACCESS CODE THAT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU FOR WITHDRAWAL, THE AMOUNT YOU ARE TO WITHDREW PER DAY IS US$4,500.00.USD.ONLY (FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED UNITED STATE DOLLARS) EACH DAY.

REGARDS,
Dr.Benson Williams.
C.O.Dept.
Reply (ecobankalerts@yahoo.com.vn)
TEL: +23470-8831-3041 Or +229-9908-6591.

Anti-fraud resources: