419 scam: "Federal Ministry of Finance" <info@yahoo.com> Payment Approved

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:
- "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)
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "atmdept@secretarias.com" (this email address looks like addresses used in "ATM SWIFT card" scams)
- "atmdept@secretarias.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.
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.
- +2348066206773 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Federal Ministry of Finance" <info@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: atmdept@secretarias.com
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:00:17 +0700 (WIT)
Subject: Payment Approved

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE
Ahmadu Bello Way,
P.M. Box 41 Garki,
Abuja, Nigeria

Attention, Beneficiary:
This Letter Is From The Federal Ministry Of Finance, Nigeria. During Our
Comprehensive Investigations Regarding Your Inability To Receive Your Over
Due Payment We Discovered That You Have Been Dealing With A Set Of Corrupt
Government Officials Who Have Been Making Frantic Efforts To Divert Your
Funds Into Their Personal Accounts To Enrich Themselves, Now It May
Interest You To Know That During Our Meeting With Officials Of Your
Country's Embassy Here In Nigeria The Issue Was Extensively Discussed And
An Irrevocably Resolution Was Reached Whereby We Have Been Mandated To Pay
You The Sum Of $5.5m (Five Million Five Hundred Thousand United States
Dollars As Part Of Your Outstanding Contract/Inheritance Payment, In
Furtherance To That You Are Warned To Stop Further Dealings With Any Other
Person(s) Or Office(s) Because Such Illegal Dealings/ Activities May
Sabotage This Latest Efforts In Ensuring A Hitch Free Release Of Your
Payment.

In Lieu Of The Above, An ATM Card Valued The Sum Of $5,500,000.00 Will Be
Issued To You By The ATM Department Of Payment Release Center Which You
Will Use To Withdraw Your Money From Any Cash Point Or ATM Machine
Anywhere In The World And The Maximum Withdrawal Per Day Is $5,000 Only.

For Further Directives Regarding The Release Of Your ATM Card, Contact
Director ATM Department, Dr. Paul Idriss, On Email:
atmdept@secretarias.com Telephone: +2348066206773, You Are Advised To
Furnish Them With The Following Information:

*Your Name:
*Address:
*Phone Number:
*Age:
*Occupation:

Note That Because Of Impostors We Hereby Issue You A Communication Code
(prc2010x), You Are To Use This Code As Your Subject When Contacting The
ATM Department So As To Enable Them Give Your File the Urgent Attention It
Requires.

Best regards

Barr. Milivoje Davidovic
(Permanent Secretary)
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE

--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam