419 scam: "FRANK ROBERTS" <investigbureau@aol.com> HOW DO YOU DO???????

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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:

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:
- "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +2348085726714 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "FRANK ROBERTS" <investigbureau@aol.com>
Reply-To: <persec@fastwebmail.it>
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:56:27 +0100
Subject: HOW DO YOU DO???????

Dear Beneficiary,

This is Mr.Frank Robert from the Investigation Bureau of Nigeria. I am pleased to inform you that the Government of Nigeria inaugurated the Investigation Bureau of Nigeria under the full guidance of the World Bank Group who is to check the progress of the Investigation Bureau of Nigeria and see to it that every Contractor receive his/her money immediately the Contractor has contacted the Investigation Bureau of Nigeria and the Investigation Bureau of Nigeria have been empowered with the Federal Contract Payment previously approved by the past Regimes/Administration which their payment were not effected.

This morning a Telex Signal attached with a Presidential Instruction Stamped and Signed by the President was sent to us to contact you for the payment of your Contract Fund and all other Contractors within 48 Hours but to our greatest surprise, a lady named Mrs.Jessica Elliot contacted us saying that she is standing for you as your representative so we actually need you to confirm if you sent her.

We interrogated her and she said that you are Dead and before your death, you made her the sole beneficiary of your fund and now, she is here to make claims of the said fund.

please reply to us with:

Your Full Names: .........................
Your Contact address (Home/Office): ..............
Your Mobile: .........................
Your Telephone number: ...........................

Now, $10.6 Million has been approved in your favor for payment and we do not know if she is telling us the truth or she is one of those impostors.You will do us a favor by informing us if she is from you.

So get the above informations to us fast unfailingly today and remember that there are no upfront payment as all outstanding fees/charges are to be deducted from total Contract sums and by this you are not expected to make any upfront payment.

On behalf of this Democratic Government of Nigeria, I apologies for any delay you have encountered in receiving your payment. However, Congratulations!

Thanks for adhering to this instructions as i wait for your email with your informations.

Regards,

Mr.Frank Roberts.
Investigation Bureau.
+234-808-572-6714

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam