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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: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND <Kristalina_Georgieva1948@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <Kristalina_Georgieva1992@outlook.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2021 14:36:57 -0700
Subject: YOUR $10,300,000.00 HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR PAYMENT

International Monetary Fund
700 19th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20431
 
Hello Beneficiary,
 
Due to the ongoing global pandemic, your email account has been approved to receive the sum of $10,300,000.00 USD as a form of relief/compensation. The International Monetary Fund(IMF) enhanced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) discovered that Over 40 million people were qualified to receive"Billions of dollars" of unclaimed money around the world. The money includes forgotten social security deposits, uncashed overtime checks, overdue winning/contract payments, Palliative benefits, lost insurance, and tax refunds.
 
After gathering these sums, a random email selection was done to single out beneficiaries who were qualified to receive the money but a lady by the name of Mrs. Shayna Britney from Florida has already filed an application of claim at the Federal Reserve Bank headquarters with some official documents to claim your money on your behalf due to your "ill health" as she claimed. Please clarify her claims.
 
Your money is currently in our correspondent bank in Hawaii. We had to keep a low profile on these transactions to curb the intrusion of impostors flocking the internet trying to claim other people's benefits. The woman who was trying to claim your money on your behalf is currently under the FBI's custody for further investigation. The main objective of this project is to ease the financial difficulties of  distressed and lucky individuals going through a financial crisis due to the pandemic. Get back to me with your name, address, and phone number for further details on how to proceed.
 
Regards,
Kristalina Georgieva
Managing Director
International Monetary Fund

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