419 scam: "INVESTIGATION"<fbiinvestigationn@admin.in.th> INVESTIGATION

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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:
- "clearance certificate" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "clearance certificate" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- ",500,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "00,000.00" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
- "u_n_fundmonitoryunit@globomail.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "INVESTIGATION" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <fbiinvestigation@e-mail.ua>
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2014 23:27:00 +0100
Subject: INVESTIGATION

Re: F.B.I. U.S.A. is contacting you. Respond immediately!

Sean M. Joyce

Deputy Director Federal Bureau of Investigation

United States of America.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/executives/joyce

http://www.fbi.gov

Attention: Beneficiary

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's mission in the area of Financial Institution Fraud (F.I.F.) is to identify, target, disrupt, and dismantle criminal organizations and individual operations engaged in fraud schemes which target our nation’s financial institutions. Additionally, the FBI seeks to identify, undertake, and promote prevention measures, where available, to reduce the opportunity for fraud to take place within the financial institution arena. Within white-collar crimes, F.I.F. investigations are among the most demanding, difficult, and time-consuming cases undertaken by law enforcement. Efforts by the FBI and the Department of Justice have attained extraordinary results since the enactment of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (F.I.R.R.E.A.) of 1989. Areas of primary investigative interest relative to F.I.F. include mortgage and loan fraud, insider fraud, check fraud, counterfeit negotiable instruments, check kiting, international funds transfers and financial i

Following our recent investigation in Bank of America, we discovered Seven Million Five hundred thousand United States Dollars ($7,500,000.00) stashed in your name. This must be cleared before it would be released for transfer to your Bank account which you will provide when asked. Failure to have it cleared by obtaining the CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE from United Nation International Fund Monitory Unit (UNIFMU) office in New York USA would be meted with full weight of the Federal Constituted Law. Therefore, contact CAPT.JAMES C. WILLIAMS. Contact him directly through email: u_n_fundmonitoryunit@globomail.com while contacting him, do include your full name, address and phone number as these will be used in processing the CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE.

Once the CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE is obtained and sent to us, your funds will be released for immediate transfer to your Bank account as clean funds devoid of illegality.

Thanking you for your maximum co-operation.

Yours faithfully,

Sean M. Joyce

Deputy Director F.B.I.

United States of America.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam