419 scam: "International Monetary Fund" <info@imf.org> YOUR FUND HAS BEEN RELEASED

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "clearance certificate" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "security keeping fee" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "clearance certificate" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- ",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)
- "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)
- "cheques " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
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.
- dhle7487@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "International Monetary Fund" <info@imf.org>
Reply-To: imfunds33@outlook.com
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2022 18:26:35 +0100
Subject: YOUR FUND HAS BEEN RELEASED

IMF International Monetary Fund
Fiscal Affairs Department
1900 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20431

Attention: Beneficiary,

Contact DHL for your released Funds

This is to inform you that the IMF has instructed the Courier
Companies in this Country to release and dispatch all the Monetary
Instruments in their Custody to their owners before the end of the
first quarter of the year 2022 unconditionally.

During our investigation we found out that most of the seized funds
were not for illegal transactions, including your fund that was
stocked with the DHL for some months. We have passed instruction to
DHL to dispatch your Fund to you since your fund was not for illegal missions.

We have paid for delivering and insurance charges and also supplied to
DHL the legal documents needed to deliver your Fund to you.
We understand that the content of your package is an ATM CARD worth
$3,500,000.00 USD, DHL does not ship money in CASH or in CHEQUES but ATM
CARDs are ship-able. For your information, the VAT & Shipping charges as
well as Insurance fees have been paid by this firm.

Note that the payment that is made on the Insurance, Premium &
Clearance Certificates, are to certify that your Fund is not a Drug
Affiliated Fund (DAF) neither is it funds to sponsor Terrorism in your
State. This will help you avoid any form of query from the Monetary
Authority of your State.

However, you will have to pay a sum of $195.00 USD to the DHL Delivery
Department being full payment for the Security Keeping Fee of the DHL
company as stated in their privacy terms & condition page. Send your
Postal address ,telephone and your name in full. It is mandatory to
reconfirm your Postal address and telephone.
Kindly complete the below form and send it to the DHL DELIVERY POST
with the below information.

It is mandatory to reconfirm your

FULL NAMES:
TELEPHONE:
POSTAL ADDRESS:
SEX:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:

DHL DELIVERY POST
Email: dhle7487@gmail.com
Contact Person: Mr. George Ted.

Have a great day!

Yours Faithfully,
Mr. Jerry Harrison,
Regional Director
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Contact DHL for your release Fund ATM CARD.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam