419 scam: JOHN WILLIAMS <romina.meozzi@alice.it> Do not fail to reply.

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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. )
- "economic and financial crimes commission" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "(efcc)" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "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.
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.
- +229 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: JOHN WILLIAMS <romina.meozzi@alice.it>
Reply-To: attornyg@yahoo.com
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2018 00:15:14 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: Do not fail to reply.

Attention Beneficiary

The Federal Government of Benin Republic and Nigeria through provisions in
Section 419 of the Criminal Code came up with punitive measures to deter and
punish offenders.The Advance Fee Fraud section deals mainly with cases of
advance fee fraud ( commonly called 419 ) such as obtaining by false pretence
through different fraudulent schemes e.g. contract scam, credit card scam,
inheritance scam, job scam, loan scam, lottery scam, Ã¢â‚¬Å“washÃ¢â‚¬Â scam ( money
washing scam ), marriage scam. Immigration scam, counterfeiting and religious
scam. It also investigates cyber crime cases.

This is to officially announce to you that some scam Syndicates were
apprehended in Benin Republic and Nigeria few weeks ago and after several
interrogations and tortures your details were among those mentioned by some of
the scam Syndicates as one of the victims of their operations.

After proper investigations and research at Western Union Money Transfer and
Money Gram office to know if you have truly sent money to the scam Syndicates
through Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gram, your name was found in
Western Union Money Transfer database amongst those that have sent money
through Western Union Money Transfer to Benin and Nigeria and this proves that
you have truly been swindled by those unscrupulous persons by sending money to
them in the course of getting one fund or the other that is not real, right now
we are working hand in hand with Western Union and Interpol to track every
fraudsters down, do not respond to their e-mails, letters and phone calls any
longer they are scammers and you should be very careful to avoid being a victim
to fraudsters any longer because they have nothing to offer you but to rip-off
what you have worked hard to earn.

In this regard a meeting was held between the Board of Directors of The
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Benin And Nigeria (EFCC) and as a
consequence of our investigations it was agreed that the sum of Five Hundred
And Fifty thousand US Dollars ( US$15.80000.00 ) should be transferred to you
out of the funds that Federal Government of Benin and Nigeria has set aside as
a compensation to everyone who have by one way or the other sent money to
fraudsters in Benin Republic and Nigeria.

Please note that we will NO LONGER be liable for any loss, cost or expense,
whatsoever, suffered or incurred by you in connection with the fraudsters. Be
warned! We have deposited all the compensation fund at Western Union Money
Transfer agent location EFCC here in Benin to transfer the fund to you, We have
submitted your details to them so that your fund can be transferred to you.

The only amount to pay is only Registration $79usd and Safe Keeping fees for
security reasons we have also insured your fund to avoid misappropriation. and
you will receive the sum of $15,80000.00 every day, Send the money as soon as
possible you receive this email today below this information so that you will
start receiving your fund through EFCC Western Union Transfer here,

Receive Name:.Joe Andy
Country:. Republic Du Benin
Zipe code. 00229
City. Cotonou
Text Question:. When
Answer: . Urgent
Amount . $79usd
Sender ' s Name?

Therefor get in touch with us with the payment right now if you are ready to
receive the compensation fund; please don' t ever comply if you are not ready
for the compensation,

THANKS JOHN WILLIAMS

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam