419 scam: "Mr. Timothy Geithner."<info@ustdept.gov> UNITED STATES TREASURY DEPARTMENT

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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:
- "inheritance funds" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "ustreas@officeliveusers.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a next of kin scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Timothy Geithner." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ustreas@officeliveusers.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:56:24 -0400
Subject: UNITED STATES TREASURY DEPARTMENT

UNITED STATES TREASURY DEPARTMENT
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

Attention: Beneficiary

Good morning, I am Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the United States National Treasury. President Barrack Obama nominated me to be the 75th Secretary of the Treasury on January 20, 2009.The United States Senate unanimously confirmed me to the position on January 26, 2009 and I was sworn into office on January 26, 2009 by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. As Treasury Secretary, I am the President’s leading policy advisor on a broad range of domestic and international economic issues.

Before coming to Treasury, I was the 9th president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In that role I also served as Vice Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). After completing my studies, I worked for Kissinger and Associates in Washington, D.C., for three years and then joined the International Affairs division of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1988, and I went on to serve as an attaché at the US Embassy in Tokyo. I was deputy assistant secretary for international monetary and financial policy (1995–1996), senior deputy assistant secretary for international affairs (1996-1997), assistant secretary for international affairs (1997–1998. And I was Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs (1998–2001) under Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers.

We inform you today dated 14th October 2011 that after proper investigations, we discovered that your funds valued at US$10,700,000.00 (Ten million Seven Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) have been approved by the Treasury Department of the United States, and I would respectfully request that you keep the contents of this mail confidential and respect the integrity of the information you come by as a result of this mail. I contact you independently of our investigation and no one is informed of this communication.

NOTE: This matter must be treated within (10) ten working days if not; you will leave us with no choice than to send back your Inheritance funds from the issuing organization.

Please get back to me as soon as possible via our office e-mail: ustreas@officeliveusers.com

Thank you for your co-operation.

Mr. Timothy Geithner.
Executive Secretary United States Treasury Department
Main Treasury 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam