419 scam: ECOWAS <office----811182@att.net> From: Office of the ECOWAS secretary general,

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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:
- "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)
- "(ecowas)" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "micheal_wood@mail.kz" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "micheal_wood@mail.kz" (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.
- +22998269907 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: ECOWAS <office----811182@att.net>
Reply-To: micheal_wood@mail.kz
Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2011 05:27:34 -0800 (PST)
Subject: From: Office of the ECOWAS secretary general,

From: Office of the ECOWAS secretary general,
Contact person:Mr. Micheal Wood.
Email: micheal_wood@mail.kz
Telephone:+229-982-699-07

SUB: TRANSFER FUND:PAYMENT OF INHERITANCE/CONTRACT FUNDS.
PAYMENT BILL NO: CAD/4071/DRC/1806/CTFC-313/00. CBOB/DG.

Attn: Beneficiary

Going by the order received today by the Presidency of the ECOWAS,Please note that your payment USD$500,000.00 BANK DRAFT is now placed on hold in this office for last official file review necessary for the transfer payment to take place. The reason why are compasenting you is because of missmanagement of beneficiaries fund from our formal appointed zonal managers, but with the help of International Monetary Fund(IMF) who have rendered a tremendous help to this Exercise.

After our investigation carried on From African financial network we discovered over USD$500,000.00 BANK DRAFT which has been pending for long time.To reconfirm the originality of beneficiary claimS and information particulars submitted to us, kindly give answers to the below questions for ''VERIFICATION FORM'' and send it back to this above office without delays.

1)Your Name.......................... ....
2)Your Residence address.................
3)Occupation.................. ...........
4)Amount to receive......................
5)Direct Telephone number..........

As such we would like to inform you of our commitment for collecting,using, securing and sharing non-public personal information. Our principles for protecting your personal information are based on the United Nation System Standards Association Model Code as set out in World Bank's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). It is important to us to provide this service to our clients.)

kindly reach the under sign Email me on (micheal_wood@mail.kz).

Regards,

Mr. Micheal Wood
Managing director General Economic Of West African States(ECOWAS)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam