419 scam: "Patrick E Blake" <stephenwit@live.com> Official From Bank of America Corporate Office.

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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "diplomatic immunity"
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. )
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "money transfer control number" (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. )
- "transfer of your funds" (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)
- "diplomatic immunity" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
- "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: "Patrick E Blake" <stephenwit@live.com>
Reply-To: patrickeblake@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2017 13:36:12 -0800
Subject: Official From Bank of America Corporate Office.

Bank of America Corporate Office Headquarters 100 N.Tryon St Charlotte,NC 2=
8255 Our Ref:BOA/IRU/SFE/15.5/WD/011 United States of America Monday-Friday=
8 a.m.-9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time(EDT) Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m.-4 p.m.=
Eastern Daylight Time(EDT) Phone: 929 235 8660 Dear esteemed customer, The=
Management of the Bank of America Corporate Office Headquarters here in 10=
0 N.Tryon St Charlotte,NC 28255 wishes to inform you that after a brief mee=
ting held by the Bank executives on the 31st DAY of August,2016 at precisel=
y 8 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time(EDT), we deem it appropriate to intimate you=
that your funds will be transferred into the United States Treasury Accoun=
t with the JP Morgan Chase Headquarters at 270 Park Avenue in New York acco=
rding to the record we got from Africa due to your inability to complete th=
e transaction and your failure to meet up with a minor payment obligation.T=
he actual transfer of your funds($850,000.00) into the government account c=
omes up next week. This is in line with the instructions of the USA Treasur=
er,Mrs.Rosa Gumataotao Rios that all unclaimed funds be paid into the Unite=
d States Government Treasury Account as unserviceable funds in compliance t=
o section 3 subsection 1(a) of the United States Financial Law enacted in 2=
001 after an attack on our dear country on September 11,2001. Find below th=
e profile of the banking institution where your funds will be transferred i=
nto following the government directive:, And note to responds to us with be=
low Name of Bank: JP Morgan Chase Headquarters at 270 Park Avenue in New Yo=
rk. JP Morgan Chase Official Bankers for the United States Treasury Departm=
ent AC NO: 68302345093 Routing NO:021109593 Account Name:United States Trea=
sury Department,USA Note that if you still wish to receive your funds do ge=
t back to us immediately so that we will remove your funds transfer from th=
e list of those transactions to be seized by the United States Government.A=
lso be informed that we need only a DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY SEAL OF TRANSFER(DI=
ST) to complete the wire transfer.The fee to obtain the SEAL was reduced fr=
om 600 to $185 and no other fee is involved. You are required to send the f=
ee of $185 by WESTERN UNION or MONEY GRAM to the issuing officer at the ban=
k where your transaction originated as stated below: INFORMATION RECEIVERS =
NAME : GERARD CHIEZI COUNTRY : BENIN REPUBLIC - COTONOU QUESTION : IN GOD A=
NSWER : WE TRUST Amount To Send; $185 USD Money transfer control number (MT=
CN) Senders Name Senders address. The name of the city from where the money=
was sent If we receive the MTCN today,we will transfer your funds (850,000=
.00) before we close office and the funds will reflect 3hours after the tra=
nsfer.We will send you all the transfer documents to enable you start makin=
g cash withdrawals from your account same day the funds are transferred.We =
have waited for so long and we cannot continue to wait. Thank you for givin=
g us the opportunity to serve your banking needs. Yours faithfully, Patrick=
E Blake Bank of America Phone: 929 235 8660

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