419 scam: "Mike Balusa"<BETHEL618@megalos.varnion.com> Form Clearing House First National Bank

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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "first national bank" (not involved with lotteries)
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.
- j2peters@yahoo.es (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mike Balusa" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <j2peters@yahoo.es>
Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2019 06:02:30 -0800
Subject: Form Clearing House First National Bank

THE CLEARING HOUSE FIRST NATIONAL BANK

EMAIL: j2peters@yahoo.es

This is to inform you that your ATM Card has been approved and ready for collection with the Clearing House First National Bank.

HERE IS YOUR ATM APPROVED REFERENCE NUMBER: ATM/10M/US33/MT-1.

Having received the above vital payment number, you are instantly qualified to receive and confirm your payment immediately without any upfront fees, and you are advised to discontinue further communication with any other person(s) or office so as to avoid distortion of data.

You are required to forward your international passport or ID copy and address/phone number.

Sincerely,

Mike Balusa

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam