419 scam: "AMBASSADOR TERENCE P.McCULLEY" <austin@w9tckv68d.homepage.t-online.de> Very Urgent!

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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)
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "mr.mcculley-usembassy@live.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.

Fraud email example:

From: "AMBASSADOR TERENCE P.McCULLEY" <austin@w9tckv68d.homepage.t-online.de>
Reply-To: <mcculley.mrtrence@skymail.mn>
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:59:03 -0700
Subject: Very Urgent!

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

1075 Diplomatic Drive, 2 Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island Lagos, Nigeria.

DIRECT FAX/PHONE NO: 1-952-658-1344

EMAIL: mr.mcculley-usembassy@live.com

Ref: FCC/10746/VCP3-11

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

IRREVOCABLE AND UNCONDITIONAL PAYMENT NOTICE

I WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT THE TOTAL INHERITANCE AMOUNT APPROVED BY THE NIGERIA GOVERNMENT FOR RELEASE TO YOU IS ONLY $19.5 MILLION .WE HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE THIS ISSUE UPON OURSELVES TO SAFEGARD YOU FROM THESE CRIMINAL MINDED INDIVIDUALS AND TO DESPATCH YOUR ATM CARD TO YOU WITHOUT MORE PROBLEMS AND FEES AFTER FEES,OFTEN SUFFERED BY YOU IN THE HANDS OF DISHONEST OFFICIALS.

THIS IS IN LINE WITH THE AGREEMENT I SIGNED WITH THE NIGERIA GOVERNMENT ON MY ASSUMPTION OF OFFICE AS THE NEW UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA.

YOU ARE HEREBY ADVICED TO FORWARD THE FOLLOWING:

YOUR DIRECT PHONE/FAX :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOUR BILLING/MAILING ADDRESS:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOUR BANKING INFORMATION:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOUR NEXT OF KIN BILLING INFORMATION:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A COPY OF YOUR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPH ,

AS SOON AS WE RECEIVE THE ABOVE INFORMATION,WE WILL PROCEED TO PROCESS THE DELIVERY OF YOUR ATM CARD TO YOU.

REGARDS,

AMBASSADOR TERENCE P.McCULLEY

USA AMBASSADOR TO NIGERIA.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam