419 scam: "John Collins"<admin@collins.com> Job Offer

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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "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. )
- "cashier's check" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
This email message is a company representative scam. This type of job offer scam involves the cashing of fake checks and money orders. It could expose you to losses of tens of thousands of dollars as well as to the risk of criminal prosecution and (in some cases) imprisonment.
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.
- +447031906742 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "John Collins" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jj200009@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:54:03 -0700
Subject: Job Offer

Dear Sir/Madam,

I represent John Collins Inc. Ltd based in the UK. My company exports finished leather products and other goods/services for world trade. Would you like to work online from home and get paid weekly? John Collins Inc needs a Book-Keeper in the United states,United Kingdom, Canada, South America, Asia, Mexico, Australia and parts of Europe. So I want to know if you will like to work from home and getting paid for the services being rendered without leaving or affecting your present Job. We are recruiting individuals to work for the company as a Representative/Book Keeper in the countries listed above. We have customers we supply weekly in these countries and our customers make payments for our supplies every week in form of Money Orders, Bankers Draft and Cashier's checks, checks which are not readily cashed outside the United States and their country of issuance. so we need Someone in the above regions listed above to work as our representative and assist us in processing the!
payments from our customers and J

All you need to do is receive payment from customers, get it cashed at your bank or any financial institution that does such tasks then forward the balance after deduction of your percentage to any of the offices you will be contacted to send payment to. (Payment is forwarded either by Money Gram, Western Union Money Transfer, pay pal or Bank Transfer). Our payments will be issued out in your name and you get them cashed in your bank deduct your commission and forward the balance to the company. We understand it is an unusual and incredible job position. This job takes only 3-7 hours per week and you'll have a lot of free time doing another job, you'll get good income and regular job. But this job is very challenging and you should understand it. We are looking only for workers who satisfy our requirements and we would be glad if you accept this job offer. If you feel that you are a serious, earnest and trustworthy worker and if you want to work for John Collins Inc, a lette!
r of employment would be sent to y

APPLICATION FORM

FIRST NAME............ LAST NAME..............
ADDRESS.......................................
CITY...................... STATE..............
ZIP CODE................ COUNTRY..............
PHONE NUMBER (S)...............................
GENDER.............. MARITAL STATUS............
AGE................. NATIONALITY...............
HAVE YOU DONE THIS BEFORE INDICATE YES OR NO?

Thank you for your time and warmest regards

Yours Sincerely,
Mr.John Collins
John Collins Inc.
159 HAINAULT AVENUE
ESSEX
SS0 9EU
+44 7031 906 742
+44 7031 956 347

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam