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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:

Fraud email example:

From: "DR THOMAS WHITE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <thomas.white0@live.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2014 17:19:28 +0100
Subject: RE: IRREVOCABLE PAYMENT ORDER VIA ATM CARD

 
         ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCI
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MOVEMENT
2208 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE N.W. WASHINGTON DC, 20008, UNITED STATES
 
 
Dear fund beneficiary,
 
                  RE: IRREVOCABLE PAYMENT ORDER VIA ATM CARD
 
BAS RE: IRREVOCABLE PAYMENT ORDER VIA ATM CARD
 
BASED ON SERIES OF PETITIONS WE RECEIVED FROM VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS COOPERATE BODIES AND NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION (NGO) ON THE INABILITY OF SOME GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, COMMERCIAL BANKS AND WORLD LOTTERY ORGANIZATION TO SETTLE THEIR CLIENTS CONTRACT DEBT, INHERITANCE AND WINNING PRIZES, I HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE DEBT RECONCILIATION UNIT OF THIS INSTITUTION TO INVESTIGATE THE UNNECESSARY DELAY ON PAYMENT APPROVED IN YOUR FAVOR, DURING THE COURSE OF MY INVESTIGATION, I HAD DISCOVERED WITH DISMAY THAT YOUR PAYMENT HAS BEEN UNNECESSARILY DELAYED BY CORRUPT OFFICIALS OF THE BANK WHO ARE TRYING TO DIVERT YOUR FUNDS INTO THEIR PERSONAL ACCOUNTS.
 
AFTER AN EXTENSIVE CLOSE DOOR MEETING YESTERDAY, IT WAS RESOLVED AND AGREED UPON THAT I" THOMAS WHITE WILL WORK EXTENSIVELY TO ENSURE THAT ALL CONTRACT PAYMENT, INHERITANCE AND LOTTERY WINNING PRIZES BE SETTLED WITHOUT ANY HASSLE. FOR SECURITY REASONS, YOUR FUNDS WILL BE PACKAGE IN FORM OF YOUR PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (PIN) ATM VISA CARD AND THIS WILL ENABLE ONLY YOU TO HAVE DIRECT CONTROL OVER YOUR FUNDS, I WILL MONITOR THIS PAYMENT BY MYSELVES TO AVOID THE HOPELESS SITUATION CREATED BY PREVIOUS BANK OFFICIALS.
 
NOTE; AN IRREVOCABLE PAYMENT GUARANTEE HAS BEEN ISSUED BY THE WORLD BANK GROUP AND THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) ON YOUR PAYMENT VALUED $6.8M USD. HOWEVER, I, AM HAPPY TO INFORM YOU THAT BASED ON OUR RECOMMENDATION/INSTRUCTIONS; YOUR COMPLETE INHERITANCE FUNDS HAVE BEEN CREDITED IN YOUR FAVOR THROUGH ATM VISA  CARD.
 
YOU ARE THEREFORE ADVICE TO GET BACK TO MY OFFICE:
DR THOMAS WHITE, U.N AMBASSADOR AND PLENIPOTENTIARY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
EMAIL ADDRESS: (thomas.white0@live.com)
OFFICE LINES: +234-8030445305
 
YOU ARE REQUESTED TO SEND YOUR FULL ADDRESS FOR THE DELIVERY OF YOUR ATM CARD AND AS SOON AS YOU ESTABLISH, AN ATM VISA   CARD WILL BE ISSUED TO YOU IMMEDIATELY WHICH YOU CAN USE FROM ANY BANK ATM MACHINE IN THE WORLD, YOU ARE ADVISED TO GET BACK WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION AS STATED BELOW:
 
1. YOUR FULL NAME:
2. ADDRESS:
3. AGE:
4. OCCUPATION:
5. TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
 
NOTE: YOU ARE ADVISED TO SEND A PAYMENT OF 150 USD FOR DELIVERY OF YOUR ATM CARD AND THE PAYMENT SHOULD SEND TO BELOW ADDRESS.
 
HERE IS THE RECEIVER INFORMATION;
 
RECEIVER NAME:EMEKA IWUALA
COUNTRY: ...............NIGERIA
ADDRESS:  120 IKEJA ROAD CITY: LAGOS
TEXT QUESTION: .......WHAT COLOUR?
ANSWER:.............. WHITE
AMOUNT .................150.00
 
I, AM EXPECT YOUR URGENT RESPONSE TO THIS NOTIFICATION TO ENABLE US MONITOR THE PAYMENT EFFECTIVELY.
 
CONGRATULATIONS.
DR THOMAS WHITE, U.N AMBASSADOR AND PLENIPOTENTIARY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

Anti-fraud resources: