419 scam: Federal Trade Commission<info@senders.com> 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: Federal Trade Commission<info@senders.com>
Reply-To: lindasielck2@citromail.hu
Date: 20 Aug 2017 22:42:33 -0400
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 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 to settle
each victim with 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 scams. The company admitted to this
and have federal settlement under which they will pay back $586
million to victims of fraud.
The (WU) knew that con artists were using its services, That
included more than 550,000 customer complaints the company
received between January 2004 to June 2017. These criminals rack
up billions in fraud transactions over that time period as
reported by the FTC agency.

Visit our web page below to carefully read the compensation fund
from Western Union Money Transfer.

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

please do contact the officer in charge

Contact Person: Linda Sielck
Email Address: lindasielck2@citromail.hu
OFFICE TEL:+1 (336)450 0325 for Call and Text SMS..

We been assigned to credit the above mention amount to your
account so contact with your information upon recepipt of this
mail

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

Indicate how you want your funds to be conveyed to you

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

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

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam