419 scam: Abel Johnson <abellhnson@gmail.com> FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C

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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:

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. )
- "the required fees" (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. )
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cashier's check" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- "certified bank draft" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
1. They don't notify winners by email.
2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
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.
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.
- +22956171937 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- jmscrlos@yahoo.com (Yahoo; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: Abel Johnson <abellhnson@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2022 09:17:18 +0100
Subject: FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C

Anti-Terrorist And Monetary Crimes Division
FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation
J.Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, Nw Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
www.fbi.gov

ATTENTION: BENEFICIARY

This email has been issued to you in order to Officially inform you that we
have completed an investigation on an International Payment in which was
issued to you by an International Lottery Company. With the help of our
newly developed technology (International Monitoring Network System) we
discovered that your e-mail address was automatically selected by an Online
Balloting System, this has legally won you the sum of $2.4million USD from
a Lottery Company outside the United States of America.

During our investigation we discovered that your email won the money from
an Online Balloting System and we have authorized this winning to be paid
to you via INTERNATIONAL CERTIFIED BANK DRAFT.

Normally, it will take up to 5 business days for an INTERNATIONAL CERTIFIED
BANK DRAFT by your local bank. We have successfully notified this company
on your behalf that funds are to be drawn from a registered bank within the
world winded, so as to enable you to cash the check instantly without any
delay, henceforth the stated amount of $2.4million USD has been deposited
with IMF.

We have completed this investigation and you are hereby approved to receive
the winning prize as we have verified the entire transaction to be Safe and
100% risk free, due to the fact that the funds have been deposited with IMF
you will be required to settle the following bills directly to the Lottery
Agent in-charge of this transaction whom is located in Cotonou, Benin
Republic. According to our discoveries, you were required to pay for the
following,

(1) Deposit Fees ( IMF INTERNATIONAL CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE )
(3) Shipping Fees ( This is the charge for shipping the Cashier's Check to
your home address)

The total amount for everything is $96.00 We have tried our possible best
to indicate that this $96.00 should be deducted from your winning prize but
we found out that the funds have already been deposited IMF and cannot be
accessed by anyone apart from you the winner, therefore you will be
required to pay the required fees to the Agent in-charge of this
transaction In order to proceed with this transaction, you will be required
to contact the agent in-charge ( Mr. James Carlos) via e-mail. Kindly look
below to find appropriate contact information:

CONTACT AGENT NAME: Mr. James Carlos
E-MAIL : jmscrlos@yahoo.com
PHONE NUMBER:+229-56171937

You will be required to e-mail him with the following information:

FULL
NAME:
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
DIRECT CONTACT NUMBER:
OCCUPATION:

You will also be required to request Western Union or MoneyGram details on
how to send the required $96.00 in order to immediately ship your prize of
$2.4million USD via INTERNATIONAL CERTIFIED BANK DRAFT from IMF, also
include the following transaction code in order for him to immediately
identify this transaction : EA2948-910.

This letter will serve as proof that the Federal Bureau Of Investigation is
authorizing you to pay the required $96.00 ONLY to Mr. James Carlos via
information in which he shall send to you,

Mr. Christopher Wray
Federal Bureau of Investigation F B I
Yours in Service,
Christopher Wray Director Office of Public Affairs

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam