419 scam: "Mr.Ben Swanson" <omailler78@gmail.com> ATTENTION

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "clearance 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. )
- "economic and financial crime 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. )
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- mr.benswanson1@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr.Ben Swanson" <omailler78@gmail.com>
Reply-To: mr.benswanson1@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 20 May 2022 06:55:14 -0400
Subject: ATTENTION

UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES
Internal Audit, Monitoring, Consulting and Investigations Division

From: Mr. Ben Swanson

This is to inform you that I visited the President, yesterday, after series
of complains from the FBI and other Security agencies from Asia, Europe,
Oceania, Antarctica, Bermuda, South America and the United States of
America respectively, against Africa and the British Government for the
rate of scam activities going on in these two nations even here in the
United States.
I have met with the President, who claimed that he has been trying his best
to make sure all scam victims received their funds and get compensated
.
Right now, as directed by our secretary general AntÃ³nio Guterres ,We are
working in collaborations with the FBI, Interpol, Economic and Financial
Crime Commission (EFCC) and have decided to waive away all your clearance
fees/Charges and authorize the Government to effect the payment of your
compensation in the amount of $5.5 Million as approved by both the
American, British government and the UN into your account without any
delay. The only fee you will pay to confirm your fund in your account is
the Notarization fee of $650 to the UN.

Sincerely, you are a lucky person because I have just discovered that some
top Bank Officials, American and British Government Officials are
interested in your fund and they are working in collaboration with One
Mr.Paul from the USA to frustrate you and thereafter divert your fund into
their personal account, when you refuse to pay or relent.
I have a very limited time to work on this, so I would like you to urgently
respond to this message so that I can advise you on how best to confirm
your fund in your account within the next 72 hours.
For oral discussion, contact me on my private Email:
mr.benswanson1@gmail.com
or you can whatsapp or call me with this number: +1 (603) 999-1216

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Ben Swanson, Assistant Secretary-General
image.png

The United Nations Office of International Oversight Services
United Nations Headquarters, New York City
Responsible for Internal Audit, Investigations and Program Evaluation

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam