419 scam: REV JOHN WALKER <mr.brightedward@gmail.com> XMAS BONUS

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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)
- "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. )
- "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.
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.
- wtransfer1010@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: REV JOHN WALKER <mr.brightedward@gmail.com>
Reply-To: wtransfer1010@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2017 21:32:40 +0100
Subject: XMAS BONUS

THIS WESTERN UNION TRANSFER UBA BANK UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA
From The Desk Of The Western Union Â® Cash Transfer Department.

ATTENTION

GOOD DAY PLEASE WE ARE VERY SORRY FOR NOT GETTING BACK TO YOU THE
FEDERAL MINISTRY FINANCE BENIN REPUBLIC HAVE INSTRUTURE ALL THE UBA
BANK OF AFRICA BENIN REPUBLIC TO TRANSFER ALL OVER DUE FUND TO ALL
THE FOREIGN COMPANSATION. PLEASE MY DEAR WE ARE VERY SORRY FOR WHAT
YOU HAVE PAST THROUGH IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THIS FUND IN THE PAST YEARS
DUE TO THE CHARACTERS OF THOSE WHO WORKS.

FOR THIS BANK FOR SOME YEARS AGO, NOW THE UBA BANK HAVE RETIRED THOSE
OLD WORKS SO PLEASE TRY TO BEAR WITH US SO THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR
MONEY THROUGH WESTERN UNION OFICE AND I AM ASSURING YOU THAT YOU WILL
NOT EXPERIENCE WHAT YOU HAVE PAST THROUGH AGAIN. SINCE YOU DON'T HAVE
THE REQUIRE FEE SO GO AND SEND ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOU HAVE AT
HAND START FROM $55 TO $65.00 SO THAT WE WILL ACTIVATE YOUR MTCN AND
SEND IT TO YOU TODAY, UPON RECEIPT OF THIS PAYMENT, I WILL GUARANTEE
YOU 100% SURE THAT YOU MUST PICK UP YOUR FIRST PAYMENT OF YOUR FUND
WITHIN 1HOURS 30 MINTS AFTER PICKING UP THE MONEY FROM YOU, AND I AM
ASSURING YOU NOW THAT YOU WILL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED AFTER SENDING THE
LAST FEE WHICH IS ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT YOU HAVE AT HAND.REMEMBER
THAT ANY DELAY IS ON YOUR HAND NOW AND DON'T BLAME ANYBODY HERE IF YOU
LOOSE YOUR PAYMENT BECAUSE IS YOUR DUTY TO BE FAST AND START TO
RECEIVE YOUR MONEY.

SEND THE MONEY TODAY FOR YOUR TRANSFER TO BEGINS IN TRANSFERRING TO
YOU FOR YOUR TOTAL FUNDS OF ($5.5 Million USD) TO YOU IMMEDIATELY.I
REPEAT AGAIN, ONCE YOU SEND THIS FEE DEFINITELY YOUR PAYMENT MUST BE
DONE TO YOU AND NOTHING MORE WILL BE REQUEST FROM YOU. NO ADDITIONAL
FEE AGAIN TO AVOID MISTAKE IN SENDING YOUR DAILY PAYMENTS TO YOU, I
SUGGEST YOU RECONFIRM YOUR FULL RECEIVING DETAILS INFORMATION UPON
CONFIRMING THE MTCN AND SENDER NAME OF THE FEE TO ENABLE YOU GET YOUR
$5000.00USD , TODAY AND REMEMBER IF YOU MISS THIS WONDERFUL
OPPORTUNITY THAT MEANS IT WILL BE VERY HARD FOR YOU TO GET THIS MONEY
AGAIN.BECAUSE THIS IS BONUS FOR THE ENDING OF THE YEAR.

THIS FUND AGAIN, SO PLEASE KINDLY GO AHEADY AND SEND WHAT AMOUNT YOU
HAVE WITH YOU NOW BETWEEN $55 AND $65.00 TO SHOW THAT YOU ARE THE
BENEFICIARY OF THIS FUND SO I WANT YOU TO SEND THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE AT
HAND WITH THIS INFORMATION BELLOW WHERE TO SEND THIS MONEY VIA MONEY
GRAM OFFICE OR WESTERN UNION. AND UPDATE US AMOUNT THAT YOU SEND AND
THE MTCN. SEND THE PAYMENT
============================== ============================== ==
1.RECEIVER NAME ... JOHN CHIMA
2. COUNTRY ... BENIN REPUBLIC.
3. CITY ... COTONOU.
4 ... TEST QUESTION .. HONEST
5. ANSWER ... TRUST.
6. AMOUNT .... AS FROM $55 TO $65.00

SO RUSH TO WESTERN UNION OR MONEY GRAM NOW AND SEND ANY MONEY THAT YOU
HAVE AT HAND NOW.
============================== ============================== ==
Contact .REV JOHN THOMAS,immediately through his above email address
to give you Sender Name & Question and Answer to pick up your money
today and let me know when you confirm it all. Thank you,
REV JOHN WALKER

WESTERN UNION General Manager
Foreign Remittance Benin
Email) wtransfer1010@gmail.com
THIS WESTERN UNION TRANSFER UBA BANK
UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam