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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:

Fraud email example:

From: "Federal Bureau of Investigation" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <robert_mueller@mail.mn>
Date: Sat, 1 May 2010 15:16:04 +0300
Subject: FBI... FUND ALERT

FBI HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
935 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535-0001.
 
 
WE THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI) UNITED STATES, AND THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI) MONETARY UNIT, HAVE INVESTIGATED THE UNNECESSARY DELAY ON YOUR PAYMENT AND HEREBY RECOMMENDED AND APPROVED THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF YOUR OVER-DUE PAYMENT IN YOUR FAVOR IN AFRICA/EUROPE.
 
DURING THE COURSE OF OUR INVESTIGATION, WE DISCOVER YOUR OVER-DUE CONTRACT/INHERITANCE PAYMENT WITH DISMAY THAT YOUR PAYMENT HAS BEEN UNNECESSARILY DELAYED BY CORRUPT OFFICIALS OF THE BANKS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHO HAVE THE INTENTION TO EXTORT MONEY FROM YOU AND AFTER, DIVERT YOUR FUNDS INTO A GHOST AND UNKNOWN BANK ACCOUNTS TO THE GOVERNMENT.
 
WE HAVE DECIDED TO INVOLVE AND MONITOR YOUR PAYMENT BY OURSELVES TO AVOID THE HOPELESS SITUATION CREATED BY THESE BANKS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. BE INFORMED THAT YOUR NAME HAS BEEN ENLISTED AND PROGRAMMED FOR INSTANT PAYMENT SCHEDULE LIST AMONG OTHER BENEFICIARIES BY THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI) UNITED STATES AND THE WORLD BANK, THAT WILL BE RECEIVING THEIR PAYMENT IN IMMEDDIATELY THE UNDER LISTED INFORMATIONS RE RECONFIRMED BY YOU.
 
SO THEREFORE, WE HAVE CONTACTED THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF)  ON YOUR BEHALF AND THEY HAVE BROUGHT A SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM BY CO-ORDINATING YOUR PAYMENT IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $10,500,000.00 (TEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND  UNITED STATES DOLLARS)  WHICH WILL BE TRANSFERRED INTO ANY  BANK OF YOUR CHOICE OR VIA ATM CARD  WHICH YOU WILL USE TO WITHDRAW FUNDS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. YOU NOW HAVE THE LAWFUL RIGHT TO CLAIM YOUR FUNDS WHICH HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED IN THE CUSTODY OF INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF). SINCE THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS TRANSACTION, YOU ARE NOW TO BE REST ASSURED THAT THIS TRANSACTION IS LEGITIMATE AND COMPLETELY RISK-FREE AS IT IS OUR DUTY TO PROTECT AND SERVE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE HOLE WORLD. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS IMMEDIATELY CONTACT THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) OFFICE VIA E-MAIL FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO PROCURE YOUR INTERNATIONAL CERTIFIED APPR! OVAL SEAL OF TRANSFER (ICAST) WHIC
 
HOWEVER, WE HEREBY INFORM YOU THAT BASED ON OUR RECOMMENDATION/INSTRUCTIONS, YOUR COMPLETE CONTRACT/INHERITANCE OVER-DUE FUNDS WILL BE RELEASED IMMEDIATELY UPON YOUR CONTACT TO THE NEWLY APPOINTED PAYMENT OFFICER AS STATED BELOW. YOU ARE THEREFORE ADVISED TO CONTACT DR GIDEON BENSON APPOINTED DIRECTOR GENERAL OF IMF AND ASK HIM HOW YOU CAN OBTAIN YOUR STATUTORY DOCUMENT FOR YOUR TRANSFER TO BE PERFECTED FROM HIS OFFICE
 
CONTACT PERSON: REV.DR. GIDEON BENSON.
PRIVATE EMAIL ADDRESS: imf.uk@info.al
PRIVATE DIRECT TEL:+4470-2406-3922.
 
YOU'RE ADVISED TO CONTACT HIM IMMEDIATELY SO AS TO ENABLE HIM FACILITATE THE SPEEDY PROCESSING AND RELEASE OF YOUR PAYMENT. CONTACT HIM WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION AS BELOW:
 
1. YOUR FULL NAME............................
 
2. CONTACT ADDRESS (P.O BOX NOT ACCEPTABLE).........................................
 
3. YOUR AGE............................................
 
4. OCCUPATION..........................................
 
5. PHONES AND FAX NUMBER..................
 
NOTE: YOU'RE ADVISED TO FURNISH THE NEWLY APPOINTED PAYMASTER GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION WITH YOUR CORRECT AND VALID DETAILS TO ENABLE HIM EXPEDITE SPEEDY ACTION ON THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PAYMENT. WE EXPECT YOUR SWIFT RESPONSE TO THIS EMAIL TO ENABLE US MONITOR THIS PAYMENT EFFECTIVELY THEREBY MAKING CONTACT WITH THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND AS DIRECTED TO AVOID FURTHER DELAY.
  
YOURE ALSO EXPECTED TO FOLLOW HIS ADVICE AND DIRECTIVES TO AVOID DELAY IN RELEASING YOUR PAYMENT BECAUSE YOUR PAYMENT FILE HAS ALREADY BEEN MOVED TO HIS OFFICE FOR PROCESSING AND VERIFICATION.
 
CONGRATULATIONS.
IN GOD WE TRUST.
YOURS IN SERVICE,
 
ROBERT MUELLER, III
Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crimes Division
FBI Headquarters In Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation

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