419 scam: "Metropolitan Police Service UK"<branch051@gmail.com> FINAL NOTIFICATION!!!

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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)
- "money laundering" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "affidavit of claim" (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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "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)
- "economic and financial crimes commission" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "(efcc)" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "sky.doneze.dept@w.cn" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
1. They don't notify winners by email.
2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
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.
- +2348031141530 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- metropolitandepartment@yahoo.co.uk (Yahoo, United Kingdom; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Metropolitan Police Service UK" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <sky.doneze.dept@w.cn>
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:11:30 +0100
Subject: FINAL NOTIFICATION!!!

Metropolitan Police Service,UK
New Scotland Yard,
Broadway, London,
SW1H 0BG
Email: metropolitandepartment@yahoo.co.uk

Dear Sir/Madam,

Compliments of the day,

We hereby inform you that the Scotland Yard Police, Interpol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI) United States of America, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria and all the African Crime fighter leaders have come together to stop scam/internet fraud in Nigeria and all round Africa. We have recovered over US$2.6 Billion Dollars from the people we have behind bars.

Our duty is to make sure we stop internet scam and money laundering. As for today we have put a lot of fraudsters in jail. We go all over Africa to pick this thieves/internet rats. We have over 8,273 of them in our jails round Africa and we are still looking for more. We are aware that a lot of foreigners out there have been deceived and lost their hard earn money to these fraudsters after promising them percentages in their letters/e-mails for their impending help to move funds out Africa including fake lottery winning notification and at the end of the day, they will collect thousands of dollars from you without a successful end.

Please, watch the video links below as some of these fraud-stars were arrested here in Nigeria:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISMgGdaGOJM

It was agreed that to retain the good image of Nigeria and the rest of Africa countries, all the victims who lost his/her hard earn money to these faceless thieves will be compensated with just US$800,000.00 (Eight hundred thousand United Stated Dollars only). This we assume will help you to start a new life. Please, you have to accept the money like that because the people (victims) in our pay list are too much. We are paying back from the money we recovered from these fraudsters.

The Sky Bank Plc (Mr. Don Eze ) is the paying officer.

To that effect, we are sending you this e-mail because your contact details were given to us as one of the victims. Since the Scotland Yard Police, Interpol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have stepped into this matter, be rest assured that you are safe as it is our duty to protect and serve the citizens of United Kingdom and United States of America in particular and the rest of the world in general.

TO FILE FOR YOUR CLAIM, PLEASE, FILL THE REQUIRED INFORMATION AS STATED BELOW AND SEND IT TO SKY BANK PLC (MR. DON EZE) IMMEDIATELY:

1. YOUR FULL NAME
2. YOUR AGE
3. GENDER:
4. HOUSE OR OFFICE ADDRESS (P.O BOX NOT ACCEPTABLE),
5. OCCUPATION
6. YOUR PHONE NUMBER(S)
7. COUNTRY:

BANK NAME: SKY BANK PLC
CONTACT PERSON: MR. DON EZE (paying officer)
E-mail: sky.doneze.dept@w.cn
Tel: +234 803-114-1530

Immediately you send the above required information to SKY BANK PLC, they will proceed with the Processing/Releasing of your payment to you within 2-3 working days based on our agreement.

Your Compensation fund, Proof of Fund Ownership Certificate, Affidavit of Claim from Nigeria Government and Money Laundering Clearance Certificate will be send to you via Courier Company.

We are aware that these fraudsters has broken a lot of home(s), made a lot of people to lose their job, sell their properties, closed their business, put many on the street, and made a lot to even lose their life. We are very sorry.

Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have stepped into this transaction, you can be rest assured that this transaction is legitimate and completely risk-free as it is our duty to protect and Serve our citizens of the United States of America and people around the world. However, you'll be expected to contact the Sky Bank Plc via E-mail for instructions on how to procure your Approval Slip which contains details on how you'll receive your compensated payment. We have confirmed that the amount required to procure the Approval Slip will cost you a total of $265 USD only and the fee should be paid directly to the PAYMENT OFFICER via Western Union Money transfer / Money Gram Money transfer.

Once you have sent the required information to SKY BANK PLC they will contact you with instructions on how to make the payment of $265USD only for the procurement of your Approval Slip to enable him expedite action on the processing and release of your payment without any further delay. You have hereby been authorized /guaranteed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to commence towards completing this transaction, as there shall be NO delay once payment for the Approval Slip has been made to the authorized agent.

Once you have completed payment of $265USD to the paying officer in charge of this transaction, you are advised to keep us posted to enable us follow up with the release of your payment.

IMPORTANT: UNDER PENALTY OF LAW, THE INFORMATION YOU SUBMITTED TO SKY BANK PLC CURRECTLY IDENTIFY YOU AS THE RECIPIENT OF THIS PAYMENT; NO OTHER LIVING PERSON OR ENTITY IS ENTITLED TO ANY PART OF THIS PAYMENT; IT IS A VIOLATION OF LAW FOR ANY PERSON TO INTENTIONALLY OR KNOWINGLY FILLING FOR DOUBLE CLAIMING OR AID ANOTHER PERSON IN CLAIMING THE SAME FUND, BY MEANS OF FRAUD OR DECEIT. BE WARNED.

Best Regards,

Mr. Paul Victor Craven
Chief of Police

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam