Benin "ATM Master Card"

[fortinbras]

I got this in my email today (Monday, Jan. 4th).

If you had to look it up the way I did, Benin is a tiny country on the west coast of Africa, just to the left of (drum roll) Nigeria.

While I like to think that this is my reward for my energetic and generous assistance to an eldery Nigerian widow lady, I also like to think that someone holding ten grand of my money would address me by name.

You'll notice, near the end, an e-mail address (I enlarged it) that misspells BANK and ends in .ir {BTW, the original email had no space between the colon and the left parenthesis - so it generated a frowny face}, and telephone numbers beginning with 229. Can anyone shed light on that???

By the way, I do not have a Master Card. Even if I did, I doubt it could make an ATM machine spit out ten grand for me.

YOUR ATM MASTER CARD VALUED US$10.500.000 IS RE‏
From: james dekker (dekkerj@bellsouth.net)
You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as junk
Sent: Mon 1/04/10 6:12 AM
To:

Attention,
To The Owner Of This E-mail,I have contacted my secretary to confirm if you have received the compensation draft cheque of (US$10.500.000) which I issued in your name, but he told me that he could not send it to you because of the courier charges. Now I have called my bank to cancel any payment regards to the draft cheque and then authorized them to transfer the payment into ATM CARD in your name which they did. As of now be informed that all charges has been paid and the ATM CARD is going to be in your name, but to reactivate the ATM Card you have to forward your current informations as requested below to the bank and the only money you will pay to the bank is US$150 for the ATM Card Reactification fee, then they will send you the ATM CARD for your immediate use.
Here are the informations you have to forward to the bank:
1. YOUR FULL NAMES:______
2. Postal ADDRESS:_______
3. PHONE NUMBER:_________
4. CELL NUMBERS:_______
5. EMAIL ADDRESS:________
6. SEX:_____
7. AGE:_____
8. OCCUPATION:________
9. NATIONALITY:________
CONTACT PERSON: Dr.Thomas Akabike Robert
Director, ATM Foreign Operation Dept.INTERCONTINENTAL Bank Cotonou, Benin Republic.
Phone: + 229 93 48 93 66
Fax: + 229 93 47 27 18.
Email : ( intercontinentalbakbenin01@iraq.ir )
Get back to me once you received the ATM CARD ok.
Thanks and God bless you.
Mr Alex kamara.

[rogfulton]

The +229 comes back to Benin. This may be the only factual info in the email.

The .ir domain comes back to Iran.

[fortinbras]

Here is an email I received today (Jan. 28), also purportedly from Benin, offering to make good on the money I supposedly lost in a previous scam (and, of course, it does not address me by name). I had not communicated with any Benin (or other scam) e-mail, so I hadn't lost anything in any previous scam. I have replaced the @ with (at) in the addresses:

---

CONTACT ZENITH BANK BENIN REPUBLIC FOR YOUR WIRE TRANSFER‏
From: OFFICE FILE (grendfather12(at)verizon.net)

Sent: Thu 1/28/10 3:50 AM
To:
Attention Dear Beneficiary,

We are very sorry for what happen to you since last year,Now listen the reason this money is coming to you is that the government of this country has found that you was scammed since last year and they have arrested those that scammed people.

So since Last week after we did not hear from you or receive your mail we have made arrangement with ZENITH BANK BENIN REPUBLIC on how to transfer your money into your bank account at your country and note that your money which bank going to transfer is $ 2.5million and what you have to do right now is to contact the bank immediately so that the manager will transfer your money into your bank account.

Now be informed that we have paid the bank for the open of new account fee for you. now listen the money that remain which you can pay to him is wire transfer fee which is only $185 to transfer your money directly into your bank account at your country ok.

Try to contact bank through this.
HON.TONY FRANK ZENITH BANK MANAGER
MANAGER'S PHONE NUMBER +229-99-220-222
FAX +229-974862
EMAIL.... zenith_wiretransfer(at)qatar.io

please make sure that you follow bank manager's instruction and forward all your bank account detail where to transfer your money into and your current telephone number.This is information the Bank Manager need from you.

YOUR COUNTRY............
YOUR FULL NAME........
YOUR ACCOUNT NUMBER............
NAME OF YOUR BANK................
OCCUPATION...........
HOME ADDRESS.....
MOBIL PHONE NUMBER.....
OFFICE NUMBER.........
HOME NUMBER............
AGE....
SEX....

May God Be With you From United Postal Service company Manager
Benin Republic
Mr Frank Edward

-{END}--

[fortinbras]

I received this on the afternoon of Feb 1st. I have replaced the @ with (at). Notice that one of the email addresses is apparently US and the other apparently France:
---
YOUR FIRST PAYMENT MTCN: 8164754812‏
From: Edward Hillary (kris_712000(at)yahoo.com)
Sent: Mon 2/01/10 4:18 PM
To:
Attn: Dear Friend.

Happy New Year, This Message Is From Federal Ministry of Finance Benin Republic. To The Owner Of This E-mail address, How Are You Today, I Write To Inform You That We Have Already Sent You USD$5000.00 Dollars Through Western Union as we have been given the mandate to transfer your full compensation payment total sum of ($1.5Million U.S.D) via Western Union as instructed by our government.

Please to avoid mistake be advice to reconfirm your full details to Western Union Department Benin Republic, for them to confirm and release the detail of your first payment of $5000.00US Dollars per a day.

YOUR FULL NAME,,,,
CELL PHONE NUMBER,,,
ADDRESS,,,,,,,
COUNTRY,,,,,
CONTACT WESTERN UNION DEPARMENT BELOW,
Manager Mr. Paul Robert
Direct Phone,, +22999134275,
Email: ( wunionpayment79(at)yahoo.fr )

Here is the Western Union information to pick up the money: MTCN :8164754812
Sender's Name: WILLIE CASE,
Amount's $5,000.00 US Dollars,
call Western union Director to give you Text Question/Answer immediately after sending your details.
Please email me your direct telephone number because I need to be calling you once we send any payment to you.

Thanks
BARRISTER.MRS.KATE SMITH
---

[bmielke]

IFrom: Edward Hillary (kris_712000(at)yahoo.com)

I wonder if he is any relation to Sir Edmund?

[donaldjustine13]

That serves a questionable email from that website. It could be more secured if it is from the direct website of the credit card company. Try to check it first now.