419 scam: "Mr. James B.Comey."<INFO@LEE.COM> Attention:Sir,

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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. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
- "cheque " (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 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.
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.
- okata.okata@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. James B.Comey." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <okata.okata@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 17:43:44 +1000
Subject: Attention:Sir,

Anti-Terrorist And Monetary Crimes Division

FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Federal Bureau Of Investigation

J.Edgar Hoover Building

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

www.fbi.gov

Attention:Sir,

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 $2.8million 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 3 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 World winded, so as to enable you cash the

check instantly without any Delay, henceforth the stated amount of $2.8million 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 that 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 Cheque to your home

address)

The total amount for everything is $350 we have tried our possible best to Indicate that

this $350 should be deducted from your winning prize but we Found out that the funds have

already been deposited to the 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.Mark Ben) via e-mail Kindly look below to find Appropriate contact

information:

CONTACT AGENT NAME: MARK BEN

E-MAIL : okata.okata@aol.com

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

FULL NAME:

ADDRESS:

CITY:

STATE:

ZIP CODE:

DIRECT CONTACT

OCCUPATION:

You will also be required to request Western Union or Money Gram details on How to send the

required $350 in order to immediately ship your prize of $2.8million 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 $350 ONLY to

Mr.Mark Ben via Information in which he shall send to you,

THANKS FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION.

Yours in Service,

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director (F B I)

Mr. James B.Comey.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam