419 scam: "FBI OFFICE"<postmaster@localhost.com> FBI Headquarter, 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:

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:
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "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. )
- "robert mueller" (This name is often mentioned in money recovery scams (re-scam): the real FBI will not tell you to contact some email address. If you are in any doubt, contact an FBI field office via www.fbi.gov. )
- "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.
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.
- +22996499818 (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.
- imfoffice951@yahoo.com.tr (Yahoo, Turkey; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "FBI OFFICE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <imfbenin29@yahoo.it>
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2013 10:02:02 -0800
Subject: FBI Headquarter, Washington, D.C.

Anti-Terrorist And Monetary Crimes Division

FBI Headquarter, Washington, D.C.

Federal Bureau Of Investigation,Washington, D.C.

J.Edgar Hoover Building

935 Pennsylvania Avenue, Nw Washington, D.C. 20535-0001

www.fbi.gov

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 $2.4million 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 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

worldwinde, so as to enable you 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 Fee's ( IMF INTERNATIONAL CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE )

(2) Shipping Fee's ( 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 fee's 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 Henry Ben) via

e-mail. Kindly look below to find

appropriate contact information:

CONTACT AGENT NAME: Mr Henry Ben

E-MAIL : imfoffice951@yahoo.com.tr

PHONE NUMBER: +22996499818

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 Money Gram 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 Henry Ben via

information in which he shall send to you,

Mr. Robert Mueller

Federal Bureau of Investigation F B I

Yours in Service,Photograph of Director

Robert S. Mueller, IIIRobert S. Mueller,

III Director Office of Public Affairs

Welcome once more to FBI www.fbi.gov

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam