419 scam: "Mr.FRANK JOHN" <frank_john09@yahoo.fr> YOUR PAYMENT IS AVAILBLE FOR PICK UP BY THE RECEIVER,

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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "activation 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. )
- "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. )
- "my direct line" (a "direct line" in a scam usually means an untraceable mobile phone number used by a scammer in an internet cafe, a redirection service number that forwards to a mobile or a free voicemailbox in a different country.)
- "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.
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.
- +22998952802 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr.FRANK JOHN" <frank_john09@yahoo.fr>
Reply-To: westernunionoffice16@globomail.com
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:52:02 +0100 (BST)
Subject: YOUR PAYMENT IS AVAILBLE FOR PICK UP BY THE RECEIVER,

Welcome to Western
UnionSend Money
Worldwide
Western UnionÂ®
Welcome to Western UnionSend Money Worldwide
ADRESSE :RUE
DU GOUVERNEUR BAYOL;BOITE POSTALE :BP 1280
Â COTONOU;Â Â TELEPHONE
:(229) 21.31.40.23 (229) 21.31.33.85 TELEX :5394 /
5395
FROM DIRECTOR
MR FRANK
JOHNADRESSE :RUE DU GOUVERNEUR
BAYOL;BOITE POSTALE :BP 1280 - COTONOU;
DATE: SEPT/Â 26/09/
20011

ATTENTION:BENEFICIARY,
WE ARE INSTRUCTED TO SEND YOUR
FUND TO YOUR ADDRESS IN YOUR CITY FROM THE FINACIAL DEPARTMENT HERE IN BENIN
REPUBLIC BY THE GOVERNMENT OF BENIN STATING THAT THE FUND IS YOUR INHERITANCE
MONEY.YOU WILL BE RECEIVING YOUR FUND ( $5,000 U.S.D ) PER DAY STARTING FROM
TOMORROW AND YOU WILL RECEIVE THE TOTAL SUM OF ($USD850.000.00) THROUGH OUR
OFFICEÂ WESTERN UNION DEPARTMENT WITHOUT ANY HITCH.

I WANT TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY
TO INFORM YOU THAT GOVERNMENT IS PLANING TO CANCELL YOUR WINNER FUNDS AND
TRANSFER IT INTO BENIN GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY ACCOUNTS DUE TO THE FACT THAT YOU
HAVE FAILED TO CONTACT US WITH OUR REQUEST AND CLAIM YOUR FUND WITHOUT ANY HITCH
OR DELAY.

YOU ARE REQUIRE TO SEND THE
SUM OF $199.00 USD BEEN FULL PAYMENT FOR THE TRANSFER ACTIVATION FEE, TO ENABLE
US RECONFIRM YOUR PAYMENT FILE FROM THE DESK OF THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE
BENIN AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE YOUR FUND WITHOUT ANY HITCH WE ARE NOT
LIBERTY TO DEDUCT THE FUND SINCE YOUR FUND IS IN ESCROW SUSPEND ACCOUNT,
MEANWHILE SEND THE $199 USD TO US IMMEDIATELY SO THAT YOU CAN BE ABLE TO PICK UP
YOUR FIRST PAYMENT FREELY FROM ANY OF OUR CORRESPONDENT WESTERN UNION OFFICE IN
YOUR STATE WITH THE INFORMATION BELOW.
Â
THE MONEY HAVE BEEN TRANSFERED
CORRECTLY TO YOUR ADDRESS WE WILL MAIL YOU THE PAYMENT INFORMATIONS YOU NEED TO
PICK UP YOUR MONEY IN ANY WESTERN UNION ARROUND YOU CORRECTLY BUT YOU CAN NOT BE
ABLE TO PICK THE FUND UNTIL YOUR PAYMENT FILE IS BEEN RECONFIRMED BY THE
GOVERNMENT OF BENIN AFTER YOU HAVE PAID THE REQUIRED $199
USD.

WHY WE NEED YOU TO SEND US THE
$199USD USD IS THAT WE TRIED TO DEDUCT THE FEE OUT FROM YOUR FUND BUT THE
MINISTER ADMINISTRATOR TRUST FUND OF BENIN REPUBLIC TOLD US THAT NO ONE HAS
RIGHT OVER YOUR FUND AS IT HAVE BEEN SIGNED AND STAMPED THAT NO MONEY SHOULD BE
DEDUCTED UNTIL IT GETS TO YOUR HANDS FOR SECURITY
PURPOSE.

SO IF YOU WANT TO TRACK THE
MONEY AND CONFIRM IF THE FUNDS IS TRANSFERED ENTER OUR WEBSITE WWW.WESTERNUNION.COM THEN CLICK TRACKING AND ENTER THE MTCN
NUMBERâ€¦763 024 0543 ENTER SENDERS FIRST
NAMEâ€¦LAWRENCE,... ENTER SENDERS LAST
NAME.IGBANUGOAND CLICK TRACKING AND IT WILL
SHOW YOU THAT YOUR FUNDS IS AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO PICK IT
UP.

BELOW IS THE PAYMENT
INFORMATION OF YOUR FIRST PAYMENT.
MTCN: 763 024 0543
SENDERâ€™S
NAME: LAWRENCEÂ IGBANUGO
TEST QUESTION: WHAT
ANSWER: WHO
AMOUNT..$5,000
DOLLARS.
HTTP://WWW.WESTERNUNION.COM/INFO/SELECTCOUNTRY.ASP
FINALY URGENT IN SENDING US
THE $199 USD TO ENABLE US PROCEED ON RECONFIRM YOUR PAYMENT FILE FROM THE OFFICE
INCHARGE .SEND THE FEE DIRECTLY WITH MY NAME AS OUTLINE BELOW USE IT TO SEND THE
MONEY VIA WESTERN UNION TO ENABLE US PICK IT FROM OUR DEPARTMENT HERE AND
RECONFIRM YOUR PAYMENT FILE APPROVAL FROM THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND
COMMERCE YOUR DAILY PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY.
Â
RECEIVER
NAME:................MRS IGBANUGO
LAWRENCE
COUNTRY:..........................BENIN
REPUBLIC
CITY:................................COTONOU
TEXT
QUESTION:.................TO
WHOM
ANSWER:...........................IGBANUGO
Â AMOUNT:.........................$199,00,USD
I
AM WAITING TO RECEIVE THE $199.00USD WESTERN UNION PAYMENT INFORMATION ON YOUR
NEXT URGENT RESPOND SUCH AS
SENDER'S NAME...........................
MTCN
NUMBER..............................

YOUR URGENT RESPOND IS HIGHLY
NEEDED .WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS MESSAGE TO QUICKEN
THE PROCESS. CONTACT OUR PAYMENT CENTRE WITH YOUR INFORMATION AND THE REQUESTED
FEE

YOURS IN
SERVICES
MR FRANKÂ JOHN

CALL ME ON MY DIRECT LINE ONCE
YOU SEND THE $199.00 TODAYÂ TEL
+229-98952802.
WESTERN UNION
BENIN
Indicate your payment file code of (#01-174)
Welcome to Western
UnionSend
Money Worldwide

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam