419 scam: "Linda Sielck"<service@show.org.tw> Federal Trade Commission

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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:
- "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. )
- "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
- "cashier's check" (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.
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.
- lindasielck2@citromail.hu (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Linda Sielck" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <lindasielck2@citromail.hu>
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2017 01:09:54 -0700
Subject: Federal Trade Commission

Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580

This is to acquaint you on the outcome of our meeting with Western Union Co (WU.N) and the Association of Better Business Bureau to compensate scam victims upon due verification. The National Central Bureau of Interpol enhanced by the United Nations and Federal Bureau of Investigation have seriously taken the instructions of the new president of the United States of America, Donald Trump to boost the security exercise of clearing all foreign debts owed to individuals and organizations as a result the past Government failure to settle each victim with the mandated compensation amount of US$950,000.00 (Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand United State Dollars)

Western Union (WU) allowed criminals to use its global money transfer service to carry out hundreds of thousands of scams. The company admitted to this crimes in a federal settlement under which it has been agreed that they return $586 million to victims of the numerous fraud.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Thursday that Western Union knew for years that con artists were using its services but ignored the signs. That included more than 550,000 customer complaints the company received between January 2004 to June 2017. These con artists racked up billions in fraudulent transactions over that time period as reported by the FTC agency.

In some of thier con tactics, these criminals would call a Western Union customer and direct them to wire money to claim a prize or to help a relative, once the money was sent, it would not be refunded/recovered. Some Western Union agents went along with the scam for a cut of the profits they usually get.

Visit our web page below to carefully read the article confirming the legitimacy of your compensation fund from Western Union Money Transfer as one the listed and approved victims to be paid the aforementioned amount.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/western-union-586-million-in-fraud/

Kindly contact the officer in charge of allocation and dispatch of the funds for the immediate claim of your compensation.

Contact Person: Linda Sielck
Email Address: lindasielck2@citromail.hu

In light of the above, a priority payment instruction has been dully issued to us to credit the mentioned amount to your personal account been your payment as soon as you contact with your personal information's Upon receipt of this mail.

Full Name:
Address:
Occupation:
Age/sex:
Phone Number:
ID Card:

Indicate from the options listed below how you wish your funds to be conveyed to you

1. Bank to Bank wire transfer
2. Draft/Cashier's check
3. ATM Credit Card

Looking forward to your immediate response so as to enable us convey your fund across to you under the supervision of the United Nations and the World Bank Group.

Regards,
Maureen K. Ohlhausen
Chairwoman, Federal Trade Commission.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam