419 scam: "FBI. DIR. Robert S. Mueller III"<mueller.icc@us.gov> FBI: urgent read carefully and contact immediately°ö9

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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. )
- "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. )
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "charles c. soludo" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "central bank of nigeria" (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
- "mrharrywilliams105@yahoo.cn" (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.
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.
- +2347034592056 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "FBI. DIR. Robert S. Mueller III" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrharrywilliams105@yahoo.cn>
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:47:07 -0700
Subject: FBI: urgent read carefully and contact immediately

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Anti-Terrorist And Monitory Crime Division.
J.Edgar. Hoover Building Washington D.C.
Customers Service Hours / Monday To Saturday
For more information call during working period
Telephone number: 2033330996

Attn: Beneficiary,

This is to officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly investigated with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you are having an illegal transaction with impostors claiming to be Prof. Charles C. Soludo of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Kelvin Williams, Zenith Banks, Mr. Michell Brown From union bank, kelvin Young of HSBC, Ben of FedEx,Ibrahim Sule,Larry Christopher, puppy scammers are impostors claiming to be the Federal Bureau Of Investigation.

During our Investigation, we noticed that the reason why you have not received your payment is because you have not fulfilled your financial obligation given to you in respect of your Contract / Inheritance payment, and also the wrong people that you have been dealing with earlier.

Therefore, we have contacted the Federal Ministry Of Finance on your behalf and they have brought a solution to your problem by coordinating your payment in total US$11million in an ATM CARD which you can use to withdraw money from any ATM MACHINE CENTER anywhere in the world with a maximum of US$3,000 per daily withdrawal.

You now have the lawful right to claim your fund in an ATM CARD. Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation is involved in this transaction, you have to be rest assured for this is 100% risk free it is our duty to protect the American Citizens. All i want you to do is to contact the ATM CARD CENTER via email for their requirements to proceed for the delivery of your ATM card, and it will cost you US$135 only and note that without this payment your ATM card cannot be delivered to your doorstep.

This is the only payment legally requested of you to do for ATM CARD, to be delivered to you safely. there is no other payment attached to this after the payment for your delivery has been confirmed.

After the your payment has been confirmed by the courier company your ATM card will get to your doorstep within 24hrs, this was the assurance givig to the us by them, and it was officially signed by the fedex courier manager. And after your package leaves for a tracking number will be giving to you, where you can track your package in their website http://fedex.com/ng/

CONTACT INFORMATION, ATM PAYMENT CENTER:

NAME: Mr. Harry Williams
EMAIL: mrharrywilliams105@yahoo.cn
TEL: +234 7034592056

Do contact Mr. Harry Williams with your correct details, to avoid mistake during delivery:

FULL NAME:
HOME ADDRESS:
TELL:
CELL:
CURRENT OCCUPATION:
PLACE OF WORK:
GENDER/ AGE:
BANK NAME:

So your files would be updated after which he will send the payment information which you will use in making payment of $135 via (WESTERN UNION TRANSFER) or (MONEY GRAM TRANSFER) for the procurement of your APPROVAL SLIP after which the delivery of your ATM CARD will be effected to your designated home address without any further delay.

Please if you know you cannot be able to afford the US$135 for the shipment of your ATM card, then do not bother to contact Mr. Harry Williams for your ATM card shipment.

Note: Do disregard any email you get from any impostors or offices claiming to be in possession of your ATM CARD, you are hereby advise only to be in contact with Mr. Harry Williams of the ATM payment center who is the rightful person to deal with in regards to your ATM CARD PAYMENT and forward any emails you get from impostors to him so we could act upon and commence investigation.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam