419 scam: "Mrs. Vivian Douglas" <ernesto.micangeli@alice.it> FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE

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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. )
- "processing fee" (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. )
- "chambers" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "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: "Mrs. Vivian Douglas" <ernesto.micangeli@alice.it>
Reply-To: federalministry_finance@manager.in.th
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 07:08:35 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE
NATIONAL HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY COMPLEX
SENATE HOUSE - UPPER CHAMBERS WUSE DISTRICT, COTONOU BENIN P.M.B. 0127,
AGBOKOU, COTONOU
Our Ref: FGN
/SNT/STB

I 'm to inform you for the last time that we are not joking over this, I know
my reason for the continuous sending of this notification to you, the fact is
that you can't seem to trust any one again over this payment For what you have
been in cantered in many months ago,

but I want you to trust me, the federal ministry cannot scam you for $95 it is
for bank processing of your payment, the fees of $95 is clearly written to you
before, I did not invent the bill to defraud you of $95 it is an official bank
payment processing fee, and the good part of this, is that you will never, ever
be disturbed again over any kind of payment,

this is final, and the forms from there becomes effective once we submit your
payment application processing fee and pay the form fee of $95 I don't want you
to loose this fund this time, because you may never get another such good
opportunity,

the federal government is keen and very determined to pay your overdue debts,
this is not a fluke, I would not want you to loose this fund out of ignorance,
I will send you all the documents as soon as bank payment processing fee is
paid, you have to trust me, you will get your fund, find a way to get $95 you
will not loose it, instead it will bring your financial breakthrough, find the
money and send it to our bursary.

The reason why am sending you this because i want you to receive your USD1.5M
immediately we are trying to round up for this payment program.

Here Is the Payment Information through Western Union
Finally my advice to you is not to abandon this transaction because of the
requirement of ($95)

Receivers Name: Michael Efechi
Address: COTONOU BENIN REPUBLIC
Test Question: WHEN
Answer: NOW
SENDER NAME:________
MTCN________

Send all the details of the MTCN direct to this email:
federalministry_finance@manager.in.th

Yours in service
Mrs. Vivian Douglas.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam