419 scam: "Mr. William C. Dudley" <patricia@ocesc.org.br> From the Desk Of Mr. William C. Dudley

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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)
- "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. )
- "money gram" (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. )
- "to your nominated bank account" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "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.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. William C. Dudley" <patricia@ocesc.org.br>
Reply-To: federalbank@foxmail.com
Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2015 22:24:38 -0300
Subject: From the Desk Of Mr. William C. Dudley

>From the Desk Of Mr. William C. Dudley
Of Federal Reserve Bank
33 Liberty St
New York, NY 10045-0001
Phone: (347-709-3859)

ATTN, DEAR VALUED CUSTOMER.

Your mail received in good condition and well acknowledged, the FBI,
SECRET SOCIETIES, HOME LAND SECURITY and DC police investigations about
ANNETTE STILLMAN finally completed today, at the end ANNETTE STILLMAN is
not your true representative but she is only trying to claim your
$7.500,000USD without your intention finally she was arrested by FBI after
the interview.

With respect to the provision SECTION 17 of decree 114 of the 1999
constitution the verification of your file is legit and confirmed OK,
therefore, we are happy to inform you that the arrangements has being
concluded to affect your payment of $7.500,000USD to your nominated bank
account, in regard to this special arrangement you advice to stop any
communication you are having with any individual, organizations or any
claiming to have your funds with them mind you they are not.

You are finally advised to secure the bank transfer acceptance fee the sum
of $175 usd and send direct to United state embassy Benin via fastest
transfer western union or money gram for our immediate action for the
transfer and come back to us with the information's, and below is the
embassy info,

Receiver's name: Jerry Mba / Country: Benin Republic / City: Cotonou/
Test Question: when / Answer: Today.

If the fee received today your funds will be transferred today depend how
fast you send the fee and funds will reflect in your account within 72
hours and your bank will alert you as instructed.

You also allowed forwarding any emails you received from any where in the
world claiming to have your funds for verification purposes said the
authorities for your own protection.

Update us with the payment information of the $175 without delay you
alerted.

Thanks.

Senior Citizen.
Mr. William C. Dudley
The 10th president of Federal Reserve Bank NY USA
And the vice chairman of Federal Reserve open market
Committee Mr. Timothy B. Bernanke Federal reserve bank Chairman

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam