419 scam: "DR.Frank Effego." <officefile----6780@att.net> PAY OUT Urgently.

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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:
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
- "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.

Fraud email example:

From: "DR.Frank Effego." <officefile----6780@att.net>
Reply-To: info.effegooffice2@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:45:31 -0800 (PST)
Subject: PAY OUT Urgently.

Valued Attn .

Our mission is to provide you with convenient financial services,we
believe in keeping things as simple as possible which means that you
will no longer have to wait for long periods before getting paid .We
provide you with instant processing to your funds transfer throgh our
secure financial services .

however,this is the easiest way for you to receive your approval
award Winning/Inheritance $200.000.00 into your bank account or handel
you the Cash, this is due to restrictions on cash movement and transfer
of Hugh sum of money.therefore ,you are advice to send us your Complete
Address: Name of City of Residence:and your Direct Telephone Number:

also you are to send us 31.00US$ to label your package clearly with
your Complete contact onece the package get to your end , we will
giveyou the contact of our officer over there to assist you deposit the
cash in a bank if you wish.as soon as you get this email endeavor to
western unionor money gram the required 31.00 US$ with the below
details:-

Receives Name:-Godson C. Oteh

Country:-Benin Republic

City/state:-Cotonou.

Question:- Outstanding

Answer:-Payment

Amount:-31.00 US$

Senders Name:-

Mtcn(Money Control Number):-

To avoid the security keeping fee and it will reach you in the next
24hours from the time we onfirm the fee and your full contact .As soon
as you send the money, please do forward the information and your full
contact address as well as the time and day you want the delivering
this is a process of 24 hours entirely .I want to finish up this
transaction before this today runs out.

Waiting to hear from you soon.

Thanks,

Frank Effego.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam