419 scam: "National Central Bureau London"<xgxgxhxj4654D@proof.ocn.ne.jp> Your Recovered Funds

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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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
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.
- sirharolds@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "National Central Bureau London" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <nationalcentralbur.icpo@yandex.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2015 11:08:43 -0400
Subject: Your Recovered Funds

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL POLICE ORGANIZATION
>From The Desk Of: Sir. Sterling Harold
Director - UK National Central Bureau

Dear Victimized Beneficiary,

My name is Sterling Harold, of the fund monitoring department of ICPO UK National Bureau. Your information is in our data as a victim of diverted/stolen funds. We have been able to recover most of your diverted funds. A total of USD$9,345,000.00 has been recovered and the culprits are claiming that you authorized them to divert your funds.

The Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) initiative was launched jointly by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Bank Group (WBG) to respond to the problem of stolen funds. Given the nature of the problem, success depended critically upon forging and strengthening partner-ships among developed and developing countries, as well as other bilateral and multilateral agencies with an interest in the problem.

The UNODC-WBG StAR initiative is an integral part of the World Bank Group?s recently approved Governance and Anti-Corruption Strategy, which recognizes the need to help developing countries, organizations, and individuals recover stolen assets. The international legal framework underpinning StAR is provided by the UN Convention Against Corruption, and we are at the forefront of the campaign.

Please confirm immediately if you actually authorized anyone to divert your funds. We shall commence with the process of releasing your recovered funds to your account upon receipt of your response to this message. My email address is sirharolds@gmail.com

Yours faithfully,

Sterling Harold
Director - FMD
ICPO - National Central Bureau London

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam