419 scam: Federal Bureau of Investigation <matthobbs@ffbi.com> RE: COMPLETED INVESTIGATION FOR TRANSACTION

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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:
- ",000,000" (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)
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!
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.
- jnfwinfo@163.com (163; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: Federal Bureau of Investigation <matthobbs@ffbi.com>
Reply-To: jnfwinfo@163.com
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2017 21:05:12 -0700
Subject: RE: COMPLETED INVESTIGATION FOR TRANSACTION

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
WASHINGTON, DC 20037

RE: COMPLETED INVESTIGATION FOR TRANSACTION

This is an official letter issued in respect of a foreign transaction that was investigated and upon completion, it was discovered that you were the rightful beneficiary of a prize sum of $800,000.00 that was issued to you based on the fact that your e-mail address was randomly generated by an online balloting system.

A lottery company in Canada launched a new balloting system for online tickets. The new system randomly selects alphabets and numbers as the username then it selects one out of many popular providers, if the output appears to be valid, the owner automatically wins 10% of the total prize sum of $8,000,000 which is meant to be shared amongst 10 lucky winners.

Your e-mail address appears to be a valid winner for the online ticket that was launched in the year 2014, we found out that they did not contact you for directions on how to obtain your prize money. We have issued an order for the immediate release of your winning prize sum of $800,000 US Dollars. We have appointed an agent to handle this transaction on your behalf to ensure it is paid to you without any further delay, any fee's required will be provided by the agent as you are NOT required to pay any of your personal money.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation hereby approves Mr. Daniel Kidner as your appointed transaction agent. You are required to send the information requested below to him via his contact information provided below:

Full Name:
Address:
City, State and Zip code:
Contact Phone Number: (Provide a number that can receive SMS messages)
How would you like to receive your payment: (Check or Wire Transfer)
Best time to reach you:
Alternative Email Address: (Provide an email you check frequently)

Send the above requested information to Mr. Daniel Kidner via his contact information below:

Contact Name: Mr. Daniel Kidner
Contact E-mail Address: jnfwinfo@163.com
Contact Phone Number: +1 (516) 518-1507

We guarantee your safety with the above mentioned agent. Once you send the agent an e-mail, he will respond to you and provide further information and instructions on how to proceed. Please note that all funds that may be required to complete this transaction will be handled by the agent, you will NOT be required to spend any of your personal funds.

Yours Sincerely,

Matthew Hobbs,
Special Investigations - International Affairs,
J Edgar Hoover Building
Washington, DC USA

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam