419 scam: "JAMES B. COMEY"<FBI-ALERT@FBI.GOV> UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

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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:
- "contact the atm card center" (this phrase is often used in the ATM card payment scam)
- "western union" (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. )
- "moneygram" (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. )
- "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)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "infofbi@foxmail.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.
Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
MoneyGram money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. Along with Western Union it is a preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.

Fraud email example:

From: "JAMES B. COMEY" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <infofbi@foxmail.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2015 14:21:00 -0500
Subject: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Counter-terrorism Division and Cyber Crime Division
J. Edgar. Hoover Building Washington DC
JAMES B. COMEY

Attention Beneficiary,

Records show that you are among one of the individuals and organizations who are yet to receive their overdue payment

from overseas which includes those of Lottery/Gambling,Contract and Inheritance. Through our Fraud Monitory Unit we

have noticed that you have been transacting with some impostors and fraudsters who have been impersonating the likes

of Prof. Soludo/Mr.Lamido Sanusi of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Aziza, Bode Williams, Frank, Anderson,

none officials of Oceanic Bank, Zenith Banks, Kelvin Young of HSBC, Ben of FedEx, Ibrahim Sule, Dr. Usman Shamsuddeen

and some impostors claiming to be The Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Cyber Crime Division of the FBI gathered information from the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) on how some

people have lost outrageous sums of money to these impostors. As a result of this, we hereby advise you to stop

communication with any one not referred to you by us. We have negotiated with the Federal Ministry of Finance that

your payment totaling $5,900,000.00(Five Million Nine Hundred Thousand Dollars). will be released to you via a custom

pin based ATM card with a maximum withdrawal limit of $15,000 a day which is powered by Visa Card and can be used

anywhere in the world where you see a Visa Card Logo on the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM).

We guarantee receipt of your payment. This is as a result of the mandate from USA Government to make sure all debts

owed to citizens of American and also Asia and Europe which includes Inheritance, Contract, Gambling/Lottery etc are

been cleared.

To redeem your funds, you are hereby advised to contact the ATM Card Center via email for their requirement to

proceed and procure your Approval of Payment Warrant and Endorsement of your ATM Release Order on your behalf which

will cost you $250 Usd only and nothing more as everything else has been taken care of by the Federal Government

including taxes, custom paper and clearance duty so all you will ever need to pay is $250.00 only.

Joseph Klian (ATM Card Center Director)
7108 N Fresno StFresno, CA 93720

ATM Card Center Director Joseph Klian
Email: ( infofbi@foxmail.com )
Cell Phone: +1 408-659-0408

Do contact Joseph Klian of the ATM Card Center via his contact details above and furnish him with your details as

listed below and also ask him for the payment information you need to send the $250 Payment Warrant and Endorsement

fee :

FULL NAMES: __________________________________
DELIVERY ADDRESS FOR ATM CARD: __________________
SEX: _______________
DATE OF BIRTH: __________________
OCCUPATION: __________________
TELEPHONE NUMBER: _____________________
EMAIL ADDRESS: _____________________

On contacting him with your details your file would be updated and he will be sending you the payment information in

which you will use in making payment of $250.00 via MoneyGram or Western Union Money Transfer for the procurement of

your Approval of Payment Warrant and Endorsement of your ATM Release Order, after which the delivery of your ATM card

will be effected to your designated home address without any further delay, extra fee.

JAMES B. COMEY
DIRECTOR
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535

Note: Disregard any email you get from any impostors or offices claiming to be in possession of your ATM card, you

are hereby advice only to be in contact with Joseph Klian of the ATM card center who is the rightful person to deal

with in regards to your payment and forward any emails you get from impostors to this office so we could act upon it

immediately. Help stop cyber crime

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam