419 scam: "Tony Ken"<tony000ken@gmail.com> DISCOVERY OF YOUR ABANDONED FUND

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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:
- "million 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "deadline" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- "foreign remittance department" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Tony Ken" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <tonyyken@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 09:36:58 -0700
Subject: DISCOVERY OF YOUR ABANDONED FUND

DEAR SIR,

DISCOVERY OF YOUR ABANDONED FUND

I AM TONY KEN , THE MANAGER, FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA.

WE DISCOVERED THE SUM OF $15,000,000.00 (FIFTEEN MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS ONLY) BELONG TO YOU WHICH WAS INSTRUCTED TO SEIZED BY FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND PAID TO THE FEDERAL TREASURE ON NEXT 14 BANK WORKING DAYS.

WHEN I GONE THROUGH YOUR TRANSFER FILE, I FOUND OUT THAT YOUR FUND IS STILL INTACT AND READY TO REMIT INTO YOUR ACCOUNT ONCE YOU PROVIDE TO THIS BANK A LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION FROM COURT IN NIGERIA AND A SCAN COPY OF EITHER YOUR DRIVER LICENSE OR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT FOR IDENTIFICATION.

WHY I CONTACTED YOU IS THAT I HAVE MADE UP MY MIND TO HELP YOU AND MAKE SURE THAT THIS FUND WILL GET INTO YOUR ACCOUNT WITHOUT ANY DELAY SINCE THIS IS ONLY REQUIREMENT TO GET THIS FUND INTO YOUR ACCOUNT. I WANT TO STAND FOR YOU AS YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO FOLLOW IT UP UNTIL IT GETS TO YOUR ACCOUNT.

I WILL PROCEED TO COURT FOR THE LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION AS SOON AS YOU SEND THE FOLLOWING:

1. YOUR FULL NAME AND ADDRESS:
2. YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
3. YOUR BANK NAME AND ADDRESS:
4. THE ACCOUNT INFORMATION WHERE YOU WANT THE FUND TO TRANSFER INTO:
5. YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION:
6. A COPY OF YOUR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT/ DRIVER LICENCE.

NOTE THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS GIVE A DEADLINE OF 14 BANK WORKING DAYS FOR ALL THE FOREIGN CUSTOMERS TO CONCLUDE THERE TRANSACTION WITH THIS BANK, OTHERWISE THE FUND WILL BE RETURNED TO THE FEDERAL TREASURY AS UNCLAIMED FUND.

NOTE ALSO, THIS TRANSACTION MUST BE KEPT STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL BECAUSE OF IT'S NATURE.

I LOOK FORWARD TO RECEIVING YOUR PROMPT RESPONSE.

REGARDS,
MR. TONY KEN.
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam