419 scam: "Mr. Fred Jones"<Dept01@titan.ocn.ne.jp> Attention: fund beneficiary

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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:
- "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. )
- "into your nominated bank account" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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)
- "fund beneficiary" (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)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Fred Jones" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <dept.treasury@yahoo.es>
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 10:54:17 -0800
Subject: Attention: fund beneficiary

Attention: fund beneficiary

After a crucial meeting today by the world bank, the International Monetary fund, the Central Bank of Nigeria and other concerned bodies in regards to the tears and complains of the list of scam victims all over the world, an agreement was reached that a certain amount of two million five hundred thousand dollars (2, 500,000.00) should be paid to the scam victims as a compensation for their lost.

This compensation will be paid from an escrow account that was set up at the CBN by the World Bank so according to the laid down procedure you are required to pay a legal charge of $600 for the approval document which will legalize and authenticate you as a true beneficiary of the said fund.

You have to understand that this is not a do or die affair because we are not contacting you to beg for your money or to force you to claim this fund, if you are willing to pay the fee get back to us as soon as you read this message so I can provide you with the payment information which you will use to send the fee to us here in Nigeria to enable us proceed with the transfer of your fund into your nominated bank account.

Best regards,
Mr. Fred Jones.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam