419 scam: Transfer Investigation Office <transferinvestigationoffice@yahoo.cn> The Investigation has been completed so contact western union headquarter.

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "required 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. )
- "tax clearance" (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 required to pay " (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. )
- "tax clearance" (Tax offices mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. Even after you pay their fake tax demands you will still not receive the non-existent funds you have been promised. )
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.
- +2347068583413 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- westernuniontransfer2012@kimo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Transfer Investigation Office <transferinvestigationoffice@yahoo.cn>
Reply-To: westernuniontransfer2012@kimo.com
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2013 05:21:31 +0800 (CST)
Subject: The Investigation has been completed so contact western union headquarter.

Attention: Customer

Please
be informed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has completed an
Investigation on the money transfer issue in which you presently have
with your present transaction agents.Your transaction has already been
paid out to the Internal Revenue Service of Nigeria whom have presently
placed an hold on your transaction due to failure to pay the Nigeria
Government tax clearance for your funds.

According to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, the real amount of your money is $800,000 US
Dollars and it has been dispatched to the Nigeria Western Union Head
Office Foreign Operations Manager "Mr.Jim Balogun" whom is presently
in-charge of your transaction. It has been designated that the sum of
$8,000 be paid to you daily using Western Union Money Transfer,
therefore your funds is presently with Western Union and has been placed
on hold.

Presently, the funds are in the Western Union system and once you have paid the Nigeria Tax Clearance in the amount of $178, your funds will NOT be released.You are required to pay the sum of $178
to the Foreign Operations Manager whom shall deposit to the Nigeria Tax
system directly and once this has been completed, the money will then
be changed into your name and released for pay-out immediately.

In
order to prove that your funds are in the Western Union system, I would
require that you go to their website via "http://www.westernunion.com"
and then click on the "Check Transfer" or "Transfer Status", you will
then be required to enter the MTCN control number as well as the
Sender's Name. Kindly enter the following information below:

SENDER'S FIRST NAME: JOHN
SENDER'S LAST NAME: FRANK
MTCN------007-20-14-064
Amount:--- $8,000 USD

You
CANNOT pick up the funds as of yet because the payment was NOT sent to
your name but an anonymous name, once you have paid the required $178
for the Nigeria Tax Clearance, the money will be released after 12
hours and shall be made payable to you. Please note that this is the
ONLY required fee needed to complete your transaction,therefore you are
required to immediately proceed to a Western Union Money Transfer outlet
and then request to send $178 to the following information below:

RECEIVER;--------MORBA INNOCENT
COUNTRY.---------LAGOS NIGERIA
TEST QUESTION:---WHAT FOR?
ANSWER:----------RELEASE
AMOUNT;----------$178

Once you have completed the Western Union transaction, you will be required to call or send Mr. Jim an e-mail; with the following information below:

SENDER'S FIRST NAME:
SENDER'S LAST NAME:
10 DIGIT MTCN CONTROL NUMBER GIVEN ON RECEIPT:
SENDER'S PHONE NUMBER:

Please send the above requested information to the following information below:

CONTACT NAME: MR.JIM BALOGUN
CONTACT PHONE NUMBER: +234 7068 583 413
E-MAIL ADDRESS:Attention: Customer

Please
be informed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has completed an
Investigation on the money transfer issue in which you presently have
with your present transaction agents.Your transaction has already been
paid out to the Internal Revenue Service of Nigeria whom have presently
placed an hold on your transaction due to failure to pay the Nigeria
Government tax clearance for your funds.

According to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, the real amount of your money is $800,000 US
Dollars and it has been dispatched to the Nigeria Western Union Head
Office Foreign Operations Manager "Mr.Jim Balogun" whom is presently
in-charge of your transaction. It has been designated that the sum of
$8,000 be paid to you daily using Western Union Money Transfer,
therefore your funds is presently with Western Union and has been placed
on hold.

Presently, the funds are in the Western Union system
and once you have paid the Nigeria Tax Clearance in the amount of $58,
your funds will NOT be released.You are required to pay the sum of $178
to the Foreign Operations Manager whom shall deposit to the Nigeria Tax
system directly and once this has been completed, the money will then
be changed into your name and released for pay-out immediately.

In
order to prove that your funds are in the Western Union system, I would
require that you go to their website via "http://www.westernunion.com"
and then click on the "Check Transfer" or "Transfer Status", you will
then be required to enter the MTCN control number as well as the
Sender's Name. Kindly enter the following information below:

SENDER'S FIRST NAME: JOHN
SENDER'S LAST NAME: FRANK
MTCN------007-20-14-064
Amount:--- $8,000 USD

You
CANNOT pick up the funds as of yet because the payment was NOT sent to
your name but an anonymous name, once you have paid the required $178
for the Nigeria Tax Clearance, the money will be released after 12
hours and shall be made payable to you. Please note that this is the
ONLY required fee needed to complete your transaction,therefore you are
required to immediately proceed to a Western Union Money Transfer outlet
and then request to send $178 to the following information below:

RECEIVER;--------MORBA INNOCENT
COUNTRY.---------LAGOS NIGERIA
TEST QUESTION:---WHAT FOR?
ANSWER:----------RELEASE
AMOUNT;----------$178

Once
you have completed the Western Union transaction, you will be required
to call or send Mr. Jim an e-mail; with the following information below:

SENDER'S FIRST NAME:
SENDER'S LAST NAME:
10 DIGIT MTCN CONTROL NUMBER GIVEN ON RECEIPT:
SENDER'S PHONE NUMBER:

Please send the above requested information to the following information below:

CONTACT NAME: MR.JIM BALOGUN
CONTACT PHONE NUMBER: +234 7068 583 413
E-MAIL ADDRESS:westernuniontransfer2012@kimo.com

If you are able to send the $178
IMMEDIATELY, the receiver's name on the money transfer will be changed
into your name and immediately be ordered for release in ONLY 12 hours.
Therefore, kindly proceed towards completing your transaction and send
Mr.Jim Balogun with required information.

Regards,
Mr.James Peterson,
Foreign Transfer Investigations.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam