419 scam: Henry Shawn <hsdf789@gmail.com> VERY IMPORTANT

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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. )
- "money gram" (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)
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: Henry Shawn <hsdf789@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <h.henryshawn@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Apr 2015 19:38:15 +0100
Subject: VERY IMPORTANT

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FBI.WASHINGTON DC.
WASHINGTON D.C ROOM, 7367
J. EDGAR HOOVER FBI BUILDING
935 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE,
NW WASHINGTON, DC 20535, 0001.

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION SEEKING TO WIRETAP THE INTERNET

This is inform you that we have carried holistic investigations in our capacity and discovered that you have transferred series of Funds via Western Union, Money Gram and bank to bank transfers to others countries like Nigeria, United Kingdom etc in order to claim a specified amount of Funds which they said belonged to you. We also discovered that in spite of all your effort, you have not been able to receive your Funds till this day.

The FBI is ready to cooperate with you and maintain high level of secrecy if you can supply us with the names and details of all the people and the transactions you have done with them in the past and presently. We are ready to assist you in our capacity and ensure you recover the entire amount you have spent. We have also instructed other regulatory bodies in the United States like the CIA to follow up the investigation and provide us with all the necessary details to tract down the perpetrators of the heinous act and brought them to book and we shall ensure you recover all your Funds that you have spent if only you can cooperate with us.

Be assured that we are monitoring all their activities as well as your correspondence at all level. If you are presently dealing with any financial institution(s) or person(s) claiming to have relevance to the payment of your overdue funds you are warned in your own interest to stop further communication until we advise otherwise. You are advice to respond to this message as soon as possible.

Kindly revert back to this office for further information today.

Yours Faithfully,
Agent Henry Shawn
Assistant Director, FBI Cyber Division

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam