419 scam: "TERENCE P.McCULLEY"<ambassadoroffice@house.gov> US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA

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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. )
- "abuja" (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.

Fraud email example:

From: "TERENCE P.McCULLEY" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <usambassadorto-nigeria@live.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:07:42 -0700
Subject: US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA

US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA

11 GARKI ROAD ABUJA

ABUJA, NIGERIA

ATTN:

I SHALL BE COMING TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR AN OFFICIAL MEETING ON FRIDAY AND I WILL BE BRINGING YOUR FUND OF $5.5M ALONG WITH ME BUT THIS TIME I WILL NOT GO THROUGH CUSTOMS BECAUSE AS AN AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA, I AM A US GOVERNMENT AGENT AND I HAVE THE VETO POWER TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMS.

YOU HAVE REALLY PAID SO MUCH IN THIS DELIVERY THAT MAKES ME WONDER. YOU ARE A VERY LUCKY PERSON BECAUSE I SHALL BE BRINGING IT MYSELF AND THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT.

SO RE-CONFIRM THE INFORMATION BELOW SO THAT THERE WILL NOT BE ANY MISTAKES:

1) YOUR FULL NAME: ---------------

2) YOUR CURRENT HOUSE ADDRESS: ---

3) DIRECT TELEPHONE: -------------

4) OCCUPATION & AGE: -------------

AS SOON AS I AM THROUGH WITH THE MEETING I SHALL THEN PROCEED TO YOUR ADDRESS.

YOUR PACKAGE($5.5M) MUST BE REGISTERED AS AN AMBASSADORIAL PACKAGE FOR ME TO DEFEAT ALL ODDS AND THE COST OF REGISTERING IS $180.THE FEE MUST BE PAID IN THE NEXT 50 HOURS VIA WESTERN UNION SO THAT ALL NECCESSARY ARRANGEMENT CAN BE MADE BEFORE TIME WILL BE AGAINST US.

SEND THE FEE VIA MONEY GRAM OR WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER TO MRS AKORAH THERESA THE FINACIAL SACRETARY TO THE US AMBASSARDOR TO NIGERIA

RECEIVER'S NAME: AKORAH THERESA

ADDRESS: ABUJA,NIGERIA

TEXT QUESTION:IN GOD

ANSWER:WE TRUST

AMOUNT:$180

AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE FEE MAKE SURE YOU SEND ME THE PAYMENT INFORMATION.

MY FLIGHT IS FRIDAY AND I EXPECT YOU TO COMPLY BEFORE THEN SO THAT THE DELIVERY CAN BE COMPLETED. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, THEN IT WILL NOT BE MY FAULT IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR PACKAGE.

REGARDS,

US AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam