419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

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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. )
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
- "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: "Foreign Remittance (Bank Of America)" <info.atmremittancedepartm@gmail.com>
Reply-To: info.remittancedepatm@yandex.com
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:21:39 +0100
Subject: ****SPAM**** Do confirm if you had authorised such application to release the
funds to her.

Attention Please.
Re: fund transfer of $200.000 United States Dollars united states dollars.

This is to notify you that your fund transfer has been approved to
released, via telegraphic transfer/direct wire transfer to your account as
you may instruct. A lady who introduced herself as mrs. Janet white came to
my office on 08th March, 2013 again with an application letter, claiming
to be your representative, and acting on your instruction to recall your
transfer payment into a new bank account.

Do confirm if you had authorised such application to release the funds to
her, and if she is indeed your representative. She applied with the banking
details below: Name: Janet White Bank name: Washington Mutual Bank address:
19507 interstate 45 south spring, tx 77388, Usa Account number: 4212432927
Routing number: 111993776 My duty is to notify the beneficiaries listed on
the payment manifest andoversee that they are rightly guided to receive
their payment.

So far, four [4] out of the ten [10] listed beneficiaries have confirmed
the receipt of their funds. Kindly confirm to this office, if this woman
was sent by you, so that the paying bank will not be held liable for paying
into the wrong hands and account.

However, if we do not receive reconfirmation and instructions from you
within the next working 5 working hours from the time you receive this
email, we shall proceed to issue all payments details to your
representative mrs. Janet white.

please do provide the above information accurately, because this office
cannot afford to be held liable for any wrong transfer of funds or
liability of funds credited into a ghost account. Please note that you are
advice to send the require fee of $38 for the transffering of your fund
into your account with the below details by Western Union only.

Receives Name:--------Ifeanyi Chukwu John
Country:--------- Benin Republic
City/state:--------- Cotonou.
Question:--------- What Color?
Answer:-------- -Blue
Amount:--------- $38
MTCN:---------

Please try all you can to send me the payment details today as soon as you
send the requested fee of $38 this morning so that we can finishup the
transfer by this morning without any further delay again.

Waiting to hear from you soon.

Best regards,

Mr. Eric Lee.
Foreign OperationsRemittance Bank Of America
Cotnou - Benin Republic

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam