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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Federal Bureau Investigation" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <fbi.deptt.farud1@live.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:37:07 +0100
Subject: CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY

Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crimes Division
Fbi Headquarters In Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
 
ATTENTION FUND BENEFICIARY,
This is an official advice from the fbi foreign Remittance / telegraphic dept.,it has come to our notice that the C.B.N Bank Nigeria district has released 10,500,000.00 US dollars into Bank of America in your name as the beneficiary, by inheritance means.
The C.B.N Bank Nigeria knowing fully well that they do not have Enough facilities to effect this payment from the Central Bank of Nigeria to your account, used what we know as a secret diplomatic transit payment (s.t.d.p) to pay this fund through wire transfer. Records which we have had with this method of payment in the past Has always been related to terrorist acts, we do not want you to get into trouble as soon as these funds reflect in your account in the U.S.A, so it is our duty as a world wide commission to correct this little problem before this fund will be credited into your personal account.
 
We advice you contact us immediately, as the funds have been Stopped and are being held in our custody, until you can be able to provide us with a diplomatic immunity seal of transfer (dist) within 3 days from the Economic and Financial Crime Commission that authorize the transfer from where the funds was transferred from to certify that the funds that you are about to receive from Nigeria are related to terrorist/drug  or we shall have cause to cross and impound the Payment and have you arrested, we shall release the funds immediately we receive this legal documents.
 
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These Documents are to be issued to you from the Bank in Nigeria through the office of the ECONOMIC and FINANCIAL CRIME COMMISSION. So get back to us immediately if you don't have the document so that we will inform you how to obtain the document in Nigeria, because we have come to realize that the fund was Authorized by CBN and will be certified as a legitimate transfer as soon as you obtain a DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY SEAL OF TRANSFER (DIST).
These Condition Is Valid until 15th of March 2010 after we shall take actions on Canceling the payment and then charge you for illegally moving funds out of Nigeria.Your funds will be released to you as soon as you obtain the document.
 
NOTE: The said fund rightful and legally belong to you, but the said document will certify the transfer proces. So, Contact us immediately so that we can provide you with the contact information of the office where you will obatin the document.
 
The United States Department of Justice Order 556-73 establishes rules and regulations for the subject of an FBI Identification Record to obtain a copy of his or her own Record for review. The FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division processes these requests to check illegal activities in U.S.A.
An individual may request a copy of his or her own FBI Identification Record for personal review or to challenge information on the Record. Other reasons an individual may request a copy of his or her own Identification Record may include international adoption or to satisfy a requirement to live or work in a foreign country or receive funds from another country, i.e. Diplomatic Immunity Seal of Transfer, letter of good conduct, criminal history Background, etc.)
FBI Director
Robert Mueller, III

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