419 scam: "Mr. Ben Kelmanson" <> Please Read Carefully

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:
- ",500,000" (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)
- "power of attorney" (with your bank details and a power of attorney form criminals sometimes empty bank accounts)
- "dormant account" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Ben Kelmanson" <>
Reply-To: benkamilson@earthlink.net
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2021 18:04:43 -0700
Subject: Please Read Carefully

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND,
1900 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20431, U.S.A.
=

Attn:
We are pleased to inform you that a Power Of Attorney was sent to our offi=
ce today by one gentleman, He is an American national and his Name is Mr. W=
ayne Derick, He claimed to be your next of Kin, He informed us that you are=
dead and you died of a terminal sickness two weeks ago, he then brought hi=
snaccount details to replace your information in other to claim your funds =
worth the sum of (US$5,500,000) Five Million Five Hundred Thousand United S=
tates Dollars which is now lying in a dormant account UNCLAIMED with a reli=
able bank.
You are therefore given 48 hours to confirm the truth to us if you are sti=
ll alive or dead, but if we fail to hear from you within 48 hours we will a=
ssume you are truly dead and we will be left with no other option than to a=
uthorize the Bank to transfer the said fund to Mr. Wayne Derick as your nex=
t of Kin
You are required to get back to us via email with your details below to pr=
ove to us that you are still alive and not dead.
(1) Full Name:...
(2) Country:...
(3) Home Address:....
(4) Occupation:.....
(5) Sex:.....
(6) AGE.....
(7) Tel:.....
(8) A Cope of Your Passport / DRIVERS LICENSES...
As soon as you provide the information above, we will inform you on how to=
get your fund transferred.
Upon your confirmation to us with a prove that you are still alive, We wil=
l embark on a legal action against (Mr. Wayne Derick) and he will be arrest=
ed and charge for Assault, false Information, Impersonation and Criminal Ac=
t and he must be jailed.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Mr. Ben Kelmanson.
Senior Resident Representative,
International Monetary Funds.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam