419 scam: Money-Gram <"www."@io.ocn.ne.jp> ATTN:

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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:
- "activation 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. )
- "required 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. )
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "i am using this medium to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "united state dollar" (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.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +22999404721 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: Money-Gram <"www."@io.ocn.ne.jp>
Reply-To: Money-Gram <moneygram229@post.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2017 03:34:26 +0900 (JST)
Subject: ATTN:

ATTN:

THIS IS
SEVERAL TIMES WE MONEY-GRAM BENIN REPUBLIC ARE SENDING
YOU THIS THE SAME EMAILS TO START PICKING UP YOUR PAYMENT AS
WE TOLD YOU BEFORE THIS INFORMATION REACH US SINCE LAST
THREE WEEKS AGO FROM OUR CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS ECO-BANK
MONEY-GRAM

STATES THAT YOU ONLY HAVE 72 HOURS TO EFFECT PAYMENT FOR THE
ACTIVATION OF YOUR MTCN TO ENABLE YOU CASH UP YOUR FIRST TRANSFER OF
$5,000:00 FROM YOUR TOTAL FUND WORTH SUM OF $985,000.00. (NINE
HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND UNITED STATE DOLLARS) WHICH WILL BE
TRANSFERRED TO YOU COMPLETELY SINCE YOU ARE FINDING IT
DIFFICULT TO MAKE THE PAYMENT WE HAVE DECIDED THAT YOU ARE
TO GO AHEAD AND PAY WHATEVER YOU HAVE FOR THE ACTIVATION FEE
SINCE YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO COME UP WITH THE REQUIRED FEE TIME
IS OF THE ESSENCE HERE,

SINCE YOU DON'T HAVE THE REQUIRE FEE SO GO AND SEND ANY
AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOU HAVE AT HANDS SO THAT WE WILL
ACTIVATE YOUR MTCN AND SEND IT TO YOU TODAY, UPON RECEIPT OF
THIS PAYMENT, I WILL GUARANTEE YOU 100% SURE THAT YOU MUST
PICK UP YOUR FIRST PAYMENT OF YOUR FUND WITHIN 2 HR 30 MINTS
AFTER PICKING UP THE MONEY FROM YOU AND I AM ASSURING YOU
NOW THAT YOU WILL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED AFTER SENDING THE
FEE WHICH IS ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOU HAVE AT HANDS
PLEASE WE ARE VERY SORRY FOR ALL THE PROBLEM OR THE INCONVENIENCE
THAT YOU HAVE PASSED THROUGH BECAUSE OF THIS YOUR BELONG PAYMENT
OF WHICH YOU FAILED TO RECEIVE TILL NOW

REMEMBER THAT ANY DELAY IS ON YOUR HAND NOW AND DON'T
BLAME ANYBODY HERE IF YOU LOOSE YOUR PAYMENT BECAUSE IS YOUR
DUTY TO BE FAST AND SEND THE MONEY SOONEST FOR YOUR TRANSFER
TO BEGINS IN TRANSFERRING TO YOU OUT OF YOUR TOTAL FUNDS THE SUM OF
$985,000.00. THOUSAND USD TO YOU IMMEDIATELY.

I REPEAT MY VOW AGAIN, ONCE YOU SEND THE FEE DEFINITELY
YOUR PAYMENT MUST BE SEND TO YOU AND NOTHING MORE WILL BE
REQUEST FROM YOU. NO ADDITIONAL FEE AGAIN TO AVOID MISTAKE
IN SENDING YOUR DAILY PAYMENTS TO YOU, I SUGGEST YOU
RECONFIRMED YOUR FULL RECEIVING DETAILS UPON
CONFIRMING THE MTCN AND SENDER NAME OF THE FEE TO ENABLE YOU
GET YOUR 5000,00 USD,TODAY AND REMEMBER IF YOU MISS THIS
WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY THAT MEANS IT WILL BE VERY HARD FOR
YOU TO GET THIS FUND AGAIN

BE INFORMED THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY THE BALANCE SUM OF
YOUR ACTIVATION UPON CASHING UP OF YOUR FIRST 5000,00 USD,
ALSO I AM USING THIS MEDIUM TO INFORM YOU THAT IF YOU FAIL
TO PAY THE BALANCE SUM THEN YOU WILL LEAVE US WITH NO OPTION
BUT TO DEACTIVATE YOUR MTCN# OF WHICH YOU CAN NEVER
CASH UP THE BALANCE SUM SO I WANT YOU TO SEND THE AMOUNT
YOU HAVE AT HANDS WITH THIS INFORMATION BELLOW AND UPDATE US
AMOUNT THAT YOU SEND AND THE MTCN, SEND THE PAYMENT DETAIL
TO THIS EMAIL,

Receiver Name..... UGO JAMES
Country: .......... Benin Republic
City: ........... Cotonou

MR UGO JAMES
MONEY-GRAM
BENIN REPUBLIC
DIRECTOR
WHATSAPP or CALL ON:
+22999404721

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam