419 scam: "Mr. Jerry Donald."<jerrydon@fed.com> CLAIM NOTIFICATION

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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. )
- "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. )
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
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: "Mr. Jerry Donald." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <xxxbent@mail.kz>
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012 07:10:55 +0100
Subject: CLAIM NOTIFICATION

FEDEX COURIER SERVICES
Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria.
Customers Service Hours--Monday to Saturday: Office Hours Monday to Saturday:

Attention, Attention, Attention.

FedEx provides access to a growing global market place through a network of supply
Chain, transportation, business and related information services. The FedEx courier
Service Company is hereby passing an essential message to all our valuable customers
to be very careful while presenting their Receivers/Residential
Address to avoid wrong delivery.

Authoritatively, this is the FedEx courier service company mailing you in respect of
Your parcel that was brought to this company to be delivered to you by one Mrs.
Sandra Williams a fiduciary agent. Before the delivery protocols commenced, there
Was a misunderstanding between you and the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria
(NICON) over the Insurance Certificate which caused the delay of you receiving your
Parcel for the past year.

Meanwhile we are happy to inform you that the FedEx has finalized everything with
The (NICON) and subsequently approved yours among the 24 valuable parcels to be
Courier after the released of the parcels from the (NICON) we are happy to inform
You once again that your parcel that contains a cheque worth $2 Million is among the
24 parcels listed which is now in our office and also with your name as the
Receiver but we want you to re-confirm your postal address where your parcel can be
Delivered to you without hesitation.

REPLY TO THE DISPATCHED DEPARTMENT VIA THE BELOW E-MAIL:

xxxbent@mail.kz

Be informed that the sender Mrs. Sandra Williams the (FIDUCIARY AGENT) still owes us
The sum of $180 before the incident occurred and we wish to notify you that we spent
Some money in the process of recovering back your parcel but still, we once again
Appreciate your patronage.

With due respect, you are hereby advice to pay for just the balance left by your
Sender and do send the $180 remaining via western union money transfer so that your
Parcel can be delivered to your residential address before it attracts demurrage.

We assure you that your parcel will arrive your country within 3 days as soon as we
Receive the payment information to pick up the fee we required and do not forget to
Re-confirm your postal address upon delivery of your parcel to your door step.

The air ways bill prepared and the tracking number will be sent to you as soon as we
Confirm payment to register your parcel in our data base for delivery and be
Informed that we are competent in discharge of our duties. FedEx couriers Service
Hereby inform all their customers to be at alert especially with allsorts of scam
Mails that might be coming to you globally. Be careful with their e-mails so that
Your parcel will not be in danger with their evil plans.

PAYMENT INFORMATION OFFICE

SENDERS NAME-------YOURS
RECIEVERS NAME------BALEY LAMIN.
SENDERS COUNTRY----- YOURS
RECIEVERS COUNTRY----LAGOS NIGERIA.
TEXT QUESTION------------COLOR.
TEXT ANSWER--------------- WHITE
AMOUNT TO BE PAID---------$180

ALSO SEND 10 DIGITS MTCN NUMBER FROM WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER.

YOURS AFFECTIONATLY.
Mr. Jerry Donald.
FedEx COURIER MANAGING DIRECTOR.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam