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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:

Fraud email example:

From: "FROM I.M.F.MONITORING TEAM" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <thomasbrown222@yahoo.cn>
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:56:45 +0100
Subject: ntercepted Fund Transfer

FROM I.M.F.MONITORING TEAM
African Department Office
International Monetary Fund (I.M.F),
LAGOS NIGERIA.
TELE/FAX +234 8087 402 040
Email: thomasbrown111@yahoo.cn
Subject: Re: Intercepted  Fund Transfer
Dear Beneficiary,
It has come to our notice in our Headquarters building (I.M.F) that your impending funds from Africa, which was intercepted, has not been released to you ,We noticed that you made several attempt to transfer your funds but to no avail. Our investigation continued to the African Department (I.M.F),The monitoring team gave an unsatisfactory report to your transaction, hence the director is presently under investigation for conspiracy with your representative with intension to divert your funds.
You are advised to desist from contacting anyone including your agent or representative in these regard,  because based on the pains you have gone through in the past we want to avoid further reoccurrence of the ugly incident,right now the International Monetary Fund has taken full responsibility to ensure that a compensatory sum of us$ 5,500 000 00 (Five Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars)of your over due fund is transferred  to any of your nominated account or  Via and international  automated teller machine  (ATM CARD)without any more delay.
Therefore in order to enhance immediate safe delivery of this fund to your nominated destination,You are hereby advised to respond to these mail immediately by providing the following
 
information as requested below:
YOUR FULL NAME:
YOUR ADDRESS:
YOUR TELE/FAX NUMBER:
YOUR OCCUPATION:
SCANNED COPY OF YOUR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT COPY OR DRIVERS LICENSE
 
Be informed that irrespective of what transpired to you in the past, we are not in any way tring to be persuasive on you as regards enhancing the safe passage of your fund into any of your nominated account but it will be very important to note from our findings  that you were not supposed to have gone through all those bogus bills in receipt of your over due fund.However to ensure equity, probity and  fairness you will  be required to carry out just a little obligation  which in all honesty will be  to enable the procurement and approval committee secure  an affidavit of claim and fact from the high court here and also sign your fund release papers to enhance the immediate safe passage of the fund into any of your nominated account in the next 48 banking hours.
Do also send a copy of your response to this alternate email addresses thomasbrown222@yahoo.cn
Confirm receipt and call me ASAP for more clarification on the way forward.
 
Yours sincerely
Thomas Brown jr.

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