419 scam: FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION <info@fbi.gov> Federal Bureau of 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:
- "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. )
- "money gram" (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)
- "lagos" (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. )
- "bensonedward464@gala.net" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
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.

Fraud email example:

From: FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION <info@fbi.gov>
Reply-To: bensonedward464@gala.net
Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:06:09 +0100
Subject: Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ANTI-TERRORIST & MONETARY CRIMES DIVISION
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
1110 THIRD AVENUE
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 USA

ATTENTION: BENEFICIARY

This e-mail 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 $800,000.00 USD from a Lottery Company outside
the United States of America. During our investigation we discovered that your
e-mail won the money from an Online Balloting System and we have
authorized this
winning to be paid to you via a Certified Cashier's Check.

Normally, it will take up to 10 business days for an International Check to be
cashed 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 United
States Of America so as to enable you cash the check instantly without any
delay, henceforth the stated amount of $800,000.00 USD has been deposited with
Bank Of America.

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 at Bank
Of America
you will be required to settle the following bills directly to the
Lottery Agent
in-charge of this transaction whom is located in Lagos, Nigeria. According to
our discoveries, you were required to pay for the following -

(1) Deposit Fee's ( Fee's paid by the company for the deposit into an American
Bank which is - Bank Of America )
(2) Cashier's Check Conversion Fee ( Fee for converting the Wire Transfer
payment into a Certified Cashier's Check )
(3) Shipping Fee's ( This is the charge for shipping the Cashier's
Check to your
home address)

The total amount for everything is $300.00 (Three Hundred-US Dollars). We have
tried our possible best to indicate that this $300.00 should be deducted from
your winning prize but we found out that the funds have already been deposited
at Bank Of America and cannot be accessed by anyone apart from you the winner,
therefore you will be required to pay the required fee's to the Agent
in-charge
of this transaction via Western Union Money Transfer Or Money Gram.

In order to proceed with this transaction, you will be required to contact the
agent in-charge ( Mr. Benson Edward) via e-mail. Kindly look below to find
appropriate contact information:

CONTACT AGENT NAME: Benson Edward

E-MAIL ADDRESS: bensonedward464@gala.net

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

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

You will also be required to request Western Union or Money Gram
details on how
to send the required $300.00 in order to immediately ship your prize of
$800,000.00 USD via Certified Cashier's Check drawn from Bank Of America, 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 $300.00 ONLY to Mr. Benson Edward via
information in which he shall send to you, if you do not receive your winning
prize of $800,000.00 we shall be held responsible for the loss and this shall
invite a penalty of $3,000 which will be made PAYABLE ONLY to you (The
Winner).

Mr. Bill Nicholson
Special Agent.
Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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