419 scam: "John Lynch" <financeiro@dafelferramentas.com.br> FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

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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. )
- "lagos" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
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.

Fraud email example:

From: "John Lynch" <financeiro@dafelferramentas.com.br>
Reply-To: jamescomey3@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Mon, 11 May 2015 14:21:12 -0300
Subject: FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

ANTI-TERRORIST AND MONITORY CRIMES DIVISION
FBI HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
935 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20535-0001.

Greetings to you.

Kindly download the attachment and go through them for clarification
purpose. As you have seen in the attached letter and Identity card that I
was sent by the states to over see all criminal activities and scam
activities that our citizens have been suffering for many years.

I have requested from all Western Union Receiving office in Lagos City of
Nigeria where I am currently operating,my investigation is that you made
some payment to Lagos Nigeria over the weekend through the Western Union.
I hereby instruct you to stop any further response to the said person or
persons that you are dealing with. In my findings,I found out that the
people whom picked up the money you sent used a fake ID. That is where my
investigation has started concerning your transaction in Nigeria. I have
ordered the arrest of the Western Union official who cleared the fund for
theindividuals. We are still working on the arrest of the individuals
involved.

Do furnish me with the details of the people you are dealing with in
Nigeria and all the communication you have hard with them,both the payment
information, telephone number, and email address of them all, this is to
assist me in my findings and to secureyour transaction as I do not know
from where I can continue.

I advice that you should not be scared, as I would not harm any of your
transaction in this country, what I want to do is to seethat your
transaction in legit and to be sure that you are dealing with the right
people as their identification is still untraced.

If you fail to comply with this instruction, I would forward you
information to the Head office of the FBI where a warrant of arrestwould
be issue and the FBI would come to your house.

NB: Please do not inform those involve above this development.
I hope you forward all details to me as soon as possible.

Yours Faithfully,
John Lynch
Chief, Computer Crime & Intellectual
Property Section

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam