419 scam: "Federal Ministry of Finance"<info@fmfinance.org> Hello Beneficiary, (Please confirm your readiness for this payment)

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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:
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Federal Ministry of Finance" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <fed_ministry_nig@gazeta.pl>
Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2010 10:40:29 +0100
Subject: Hello Beneficiary, (Please confirm your readiness for this payment)

Federal Ministry of Finance
101 Aso Rock Way, Abuja
Nigeria

Hello Beneficiary,

My name is Dr. Olusegun O. Aganga of the Federal Ministry of Finance. I received a letter today that your unclaimed approved payment of $10.5millionusd by this Ministry for the past one year should now be paid to Mr. John Wheeler of 1101 West 18th Avenue, Emporia, Kansas 66801 U.S.A.

In his said letter which is change of beneficiary/ownership, it is said that you are dead and that he is your next of kin, it went further to say you signed a deed and an agreement with him to become your next of kin. But because of the elaborate global scam, I decided to contact you first for reconfirmation and if after seven working days, no response is received from you, it will be assumed that you are true dead and the authorization and approval will be granted on behalf of Mr. John Wheeler to claim/receive your fund.

But if you are well and alive then confirm this letter and reconfirm your Information and how you want your said fund to be paid to you without further delay. Send your responses by email.

Below is the information you are expected to re-confirm.

Full Name:
Address:
Nationality/Country:
Sex:
Age:
Occupation:
Personal/Direct Phone No:
Driver's license or any copy of Your Identity:

Sincerely,

Dr. Olusegun O. Aganga (Minister of Finance)
Federal Ministry of Finance

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam