419 scam: "MR.GRACE FREEMAN"<david@davidknox.org> ATM Payment Office,

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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:
- "contact the atm card center" (this phrase is often used in the ATM card payment scam)
- "security keeping 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. )
- "united state of america" (this email uses bad English)
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "chief auditor" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "jameswade@secretarias.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
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.
- +2347095445259 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "MR.GRACE FREEMAN" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <jameswade@secretarias.com>
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2010 08:17:25 -0700
Subject: ATM Payment Office,

ATM Payment Office,
Office of the chief Auditor,
International Credit Settlement
REF:TBT-01-2010 AGOA
Implementation Instructions
TBT-02-038

Attn: Beneficiary,

Get back to us immediately for necessary step concerning your inhenritance,
Sequel to your non-reply of my earlier email you dated 08|04|2010.This is to
officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly
investigate with the help of our intelligence Monitoring Network System that
you have not received

Your fund and after due vetting and evaluation of your file that was sent to us
by International Monetary Department,we noticed that the reason why you have not
received your payment is because you have not fulfilled your financial obligation
given to you in respect of your Contract Inheritance.

Therefore, we have contact the federal ministery of finance on your behalf and they
have brought a solution to your problem by coordinating your payment in total 10.5
million USD in an ATM CARD which you can use to withdral moeny from any ATM MACHINE
CENTER anywhere in the world with a maximuim of $4000 to $5000 united state dollar
daily you now have the lawful right to claim your fund in an ATM CARD.

We also inform you to understand that a lady with name Mrs.Joan C.Bailey from Ohio,
United state Of America has already contacted us and also presented to us all the
necessary documentations evidencing your claim purported to have been signed
personally by you prior to the release of your funds to her,
though we insisted on hearing from you personally before we could go ahead on wiring.
the ATM CARD to the BANK information provided by the above named Lady.
It is basically one of the main reasons why we contacted you.

Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation is involved in this transaction,
you have to be rest assured for this is 100% risk free it is our duty to protect the American,Asia,Europ and African Citizens.All you need to do is to contact the ATM CARD
CENTER via email with following information on how you want your CARD.
to be delivered and be informed that you will have to make sum of Us$180 for security
keeping fee of the Agent before your ATm card can be delivered your Address below.

Do contactupdate Mr.james Wade of the ATM PAYMENT CENTER with your details below:

Your FULL NAME:
Your PRIVATE CONTACT ADDRESS:
Your TELL No:
Your CURRENT OCCUPATION:
Your AGE:And a copy of your identity card if any.

CONTACT INFORMATION
NAME: Mr.JAMES WADE
EMAIL: jameswade@secretarias.com
Tel: +234-7095-445-259
AND MAKE SURE YOU GIVE MR JAMES WADE A PHONE CALL SO HE CAN CONFIRM YOUR
DELIVERY

Best Regards.

Mrs.Grace Freeman.
Head International Banking Division
24/7 Banking Administrative Service.
UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA|UBA

Note:That if no seriousness is seen from you, we have no choice but to cancel your
unclaimed fund.We have no time to waste in this transaction any more.
This is the Second Letter and also do disregard any email you get from any impostors or offices claiming to be in possession of your ATM CARD,you are hereby advice only to be in contact with Mr.JAMES WADE of the ATM CARD CENTER who is the rightful person to deal
with in regards to your fund and forward any emails you get from impostors to him so we could act upon and commence investigation.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam