419 scam: "Dr. Donald Williams" <info.bnkbj@zing.vn> User-code: BK-5468758-US, Password:-bnk453

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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:

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. )
- "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. )
- "service 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. )
- "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: "Dr. Donald Williams" <info.bnkbj@zing.vn>
Date: Fri, 13 May 2011 17:59:26 +0400
Subject: User-code: BK-5468758-US, Password:-bnk453

Dear Beneficary,

This is to inform you that we have made the payment of your overdue
payment and we receive the informations. your full account details is
needed due to is the secure way to communicate the transaction to you.
this
will guide you through the process so that you may them go to any local
bank to receive your $200.000.00 from your US dollars account by first
thing this morning. Contact me back with the informations needed by today
so that we can get your fund transfer by today without any delay again. 1
Instructions to obtain the actvation fee of $30) This service is mandatory
that you will send the service fee $30 using the below information via
western union only.

Senders Name-----
Recivers name---- Godson OTEH
Destination country --- Benin Republic
City and state -- Cotonou
Zip code --- +229
Question----What Color?
Answer---Blue
Amount---------$30.
MTCN--------

2. Once you have send the fee forward the MTCN, your fund will be release
to you and you will visit any local bank by first thing this morning and
ask to speak to your local bank with this below: User-code: BK-5468758-US,
Password:-bnk453 , And represent the Usercode and password to them, and
the
total money will be pay to you cash by first thing this morning as soon as
we receive the payment details and your full informations by today. and
the
bank will be ready to pay you the requested amount as soon as we receive
the requirement from you today, so try all you can to do that now so that
we can get things done by today without any further delay again.

Waiting to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Donald Williams

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam