419 scam: "ATM PAYMENT DEPARTMENT FINANCIAL BANK $Foreign Operation Dept$" <info.departmoffice@gmail.com> CONVINCE ME THAT YOU ARE STILL ALIVE.

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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:
- "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)
- "interl.departm2@msn.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.
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: "ATM PAYMENT DEPARTMENT FINANCIAL BANK $Foreign Operation Dept$" <info.departmoffice@gmail.com>
Reply-To: interl.departm2@msn.com
Date: Mon, 30 May 2011 14:19:27 +0100 (BST)
Subject: CONVINCE ME THAT YOU ARE STILL ALIVE.

Atten ,

We received an emails from a lady called, What is still the delay, You don't want to respond to me, to know if you are alive or you are dead. What is the matter with you? I have tried to reach you by telephone, no respond. what is the problem now, please respond so that we can finalize this without any delay. Please let me know if you are ready to receive your Am card or you don't want to receive it any longer.

I want you to know that Gloria Bray, she called us yesterday with this number tell: +09264708533 claimed that you are dead again , she said that we should send her you're A.T.M card to her home address: 195 FRESNO PARLIER. City, PARLIER , because she is the next of kin to you, Convince me that you are still alive, because the lady said that she will be in our office this morning, to claim your Atm card and she will provide your International pass-port to us . Please convince me now. She said that you died last friday. and they are here to claim your Atm card. they said that they knew you was going to pay $42(US$) to get the A.T.M card because you told them something like that before you die.

I should let her know the information that she will use for the payment of $42(US$), please let me know if this is true or not as am confused now and if we do not see your response as soon as possible then we will know is true and enrooted you're A.T.M card to her address. So you are advice to send us the money and the Attachement of your International pass-port to confirm that you are still alive not dead. or you give me a call to hear your voice. Furthermore remember the Agent delivering the package does not know the content of that of the package So act on your party by sending the $39 (US$) via western union or money gram only with the below details:

Senders Name:----
Recivers name:---- Sampson Akushie
Country:--- Benin Republic
City:-- Cotonou
Question:----Who?
Answer:---Sampson
MTCN:--------
Amount:--$42(US$)

Send the money via western union money transfer or money gram, and forward the payment informations to us for easier pick up. Because of you don't respond to us again that is the reason why we belived that you are dead. Forward the MTCN, Q and A to this email : interl.departm2@msn.com to enable us issue the transfer to your position accordingly. So that the delivery agent will deliver your atm package to you by today without any further delay again. Please try all you can to send this fee today and call the agent today. AGENT NAME: Paul George. Tele: +1 206-426-6305. Fax: +1 206-426-6017. Please note that the delivery agent must deliver your card to you by today if you can comply with the requirement by this morning.

Waiting to hear from you soon.
Thanks and we remain the Financial Bank Customer care promising to serve
you better.
Regard
Mr. Williams Peter.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam