419 scam: "MR. MARK Maxwell"<varanpal@durgakundalini.com> M.T.C.N: 215-580-6983

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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:
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "clearance certificate" (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. )
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.
- western_union323232@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "MR. MARK Maxwell" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <officefile_0112@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Sun, 7 May 2023 17:31:06 -0700
Subject: M.T.C.N: 215-580-6983

WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER.

CUSTOMER CARE: western_union323232@hotmail.com

TEL +1 (202) 919-9369.

ATTENTION: SIR/MADAM.

AFTER WE RECEIVED YOUR INFORMATION, WE INSTANTLY TRANSFER THE FIRST

PAYMENT OF $5000 IN YOUR NAME. AND AS I WAS TRYING TO EMAIL YOU THE

INFORMATION YOU SHOULD USE TO PICK UP THE PAYMENT IN YOUR COUNTRY, I

THEN GOT AN ALERT FROM WESTERN UNION HEAD OFFICE HERE, THAT THE $5000

WE TRANSFERRED AND THE REMAINING OF( $2.800,000,00USD ) HAS BEEN ON

HOLD THROUGH OUR NETWORK BY THE HEAD OFFICE.

I ASKED THEM WHY THEY SAID THAT THE HOMELAND SECURITY COMPANY HERE IN

UNITED STATE REPORTED TO THEM THAT WE ARE TRANSFERRING SUCH AMOUNT OF

MONEY WITHOUT THE HOMELAND SECURITY CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE. SO, AFTER I

CUT OFF THE CONVERSATION WITH THE HEAD OFFICE, I CALLED THE HOMELAND

SECURITY COMPANY TO KNOW HOW THE CLEARANCE COULD BE OBTAINED FROM THEM

AND THE COST OF OBTAINING IT AND THEY SAID THAT IT WILL COST ONLY

US$100.00 IF YOU ARE READY TO RECEIVE THE REMITTANCE PAYMENT WESTERN

UNION. YOU HAVE TO SEND THE AN ITUNES GIFT CARD (US$100)

BELOW IS YOUR MTCN NUMBER YOU CAN TRACK IT WITH THE WEBSITE BELOW OR ABOVE.

Sender: Naif abdulaziz ALKHAMASH

M.T.C.N: 215-580-6983

Text question: Yellow

Text Answer: Green

Amount: $5,000.00

WEBSITE; https://www.westernunion.com/web/global-service/track-transfer

THE MANAGEMENT OF WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER OFFICE.DISPATCHED THIS

TODAY. PLEASE WE NEED TO RE-CONFIRM YOUR INFORMATION TO BE SURE WE ARE

DEALING WITH OWNER OF THIS EMAIL OK.

1. YOUR FULL NAME:……

2. YOUR ADDRESS:……..

3. YOUR COUNTRY:……..

5. YOUR AGE:…………

6. YOUR PHONE NO:…….

URGENT ACTION IS NEEDED AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THIS EMAIL. GET BACK

WITH REQUIRED INFORMATION. TEXT TO THE NUMBER HERE. +1 (202) 919-9369.

THANK YOU.

SINCERELY,

MR. MARK Maxwell.

EMAIL: (western_union323232@hotmail.com)

PHONE NO: +1 (202) 919-9369.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam