419 scam: "DIR. FBI. Robert S. Mueller III"<info@us.gov> FBI:Attn read carefully and contact immediately

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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. )
- "is 100% risk free" (almost true for the criminal trying to scam you - arrests of online criminals are rare)
- "farida waziri" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real EFCC does not contact victims to offer to get their money back because that is near impossible. )
- "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)
- "mrjimbrown1985@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.
- +2347060646140 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "DIR. FBI. Robert S. Mueller III" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <mrjimbrown1985@yahoo.cn>
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 11:08:28 +0100
Subject: FBI:Attn 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. Patrick Aziza, Mr
Frank Nweke, Dr. Philip Mogan, none officials of Zenith Banks, United Bank of
Africa(UBA)Barr. Derrick Smith, kelvin Young of HSBC, Ibrahim Sule,Larry
Johnson,Dr. Usman Shamsuddeen, Dr. Philip Mogan, Paul Adim,Mrs. Farida
Waziri,EFCC NIGERIA they are Puppy Scammers impostors claiming to be the ones in
charge of your payment. 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 that you have been dealing with the wrong prople.

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 (USD$3.000.000.00) to be delivered to you in cash through a diplomatic
means with the help of an FBI agent.

You now have the lawful right to claim your fund. 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 people of the world. All
you need to do is to contact the PAYMENT CENTER via email for their requirements
to proceed for the delivery of your funds, and it will cost you US$150 which is
for the APPROVAL SLIP only and note that without this payment your fund cannot
be delivered to your doorstep.

After your payment has been confirmed your funds will be shipped and accompanied
by an FBI AGENT and you will recieve your tracking number via email which you
can use to track you package and know when it will get to you.

Please note that your fund will be accompanied by an FBI agent who will make
sure it gets to your doorstep without any problem.

Below are few list of tracking numbers you can track them on the FedEx website
to confirm, some benificiaries like you who have received their ATM card
successfully.

Name : Donny Peterson: FedEx Tracking Number: 870456747216
http://www.fedex.com/ng/
Name : Angela L. Johnson: FedEx Tracking Number: 870456750392
http://www.fedex.com/ng/

CONTACT INFORMATION

NAME: Mr. Jim Brown
EMAIL: mrjimbrown1985@yahoo.cn
TEL: +234 7060646140

Do contact Mr. Jim Brown 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 $150 via (WESTERN UNION TRANSFER) or
(MONEY GRAM TRANSFER) for the procurement of the APPROVAL SLIP after which the
delivery of your FUNDS will be effected to your designated home address without
any further delay.

Please if you know you cannot be able to afford the US$150 for the shipment of
your fund, then do not bother to contact Mr. Jim Brown for your funs.

Note: Do disregard any email you get from any impostors or offices claiming to
be in possession of your fund, you are hereby advise only to be in contact with
Mr. Jim Brown, who is the rightful person to deal with in regards to your fund
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