419 scam: "Tony Johnson"<tonyjohnson_2012@globomail.com> TREAT AS URGENT AS POSSIBLE.

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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 friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Tony Johnson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <tonyjohnson-2012@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 22:56:26 -0400
Subject: TREAT AS URGENT AS POSSIBLE.

Dear Friend,

I am Mr.Tony Johnson a computer scientist with central bank of Nigeria.I am 26 years old, just started work with C.B.N. I came across your file which was marked X and your released disk painted RED, I took time to study it and found out that you have paid VIRTUALLY all fees for documents of different kind but the fund has not been release to you. The most annoying thing is that they cannot tell you the truths that on no account will they ever release the fund to you; instead they let you spend money unnecessarily. I do not intend to work here all the days of my life, I can release this fund to you if you can certify me of my security, because if you don't I will be in serious trouble and my job will be terminated as well.

Please you may not understand it because you are not a Nigerian. The only thing I will need to release this fund is a special HARD DISK(HD120 GIG) which is a special hard disk designed for ktt transfers. I will buy two of it, recopy your information,destroy the previous one, and punch the computer to reflect the funds in your bank within 24 banking hours. I will clean up the tracer and destroy your file, after which I will run away from Nigeria to meet with you.

You should send to me your convenient tell/fax numbers for easy communications and also re confirm your banking details, so that there won't be any mistake.

Regards,

Mr.Tony Johnson

Computer Scientist.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam