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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "IMF Board of Trustees" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <info.imfamerica@usa.com>
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2018 12:06:36 -0700
Subject: IMF Board of Trustees

The IMF Board of Trustees,after due verification have instructed me to contact you in respect of payment re-activation to your nominated account.Your payment credentials have been released and your payment release code is B601.

Your part payment inheritance fund is One Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars USD$ 1.5 Million. Having received these vital payment numbers, therefore you are qualified now to received and confirm your payment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) American Region immediately within the next 24hrs. We assure you that your payment will get to you as long as you follow my directives and instructions. We have decided to give you a CODE, THE CODE IS: 601. Please, any time you receive a mail with the name Mr Ellis Larry , check if there is CODE (B601) if the code is not written, please delete the massage from your box!


Regards,
Mr Jeffery Hawkins

Anti-fraud resources: