419 scam: Mr John Lewis <travail@gouv.bj> Re: International Monetary Fund.

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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:

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:
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: Mr John Lewis <travail@gouv.bj>
Reply-To: <noticeboardi902@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2022 17:11:49 +0100
Subject: Re: International Monetary Fund.

Dear Funds Beneficiary,

The Information reaching us states you are among those whose pending payment valued at Five Million,Seven Hundred Thousand United States Dollars has been approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)in conjunction with the World Bank. The fund release has been delayed as a result of your dealings with unauthorized Government officials/individuals, so you are advised to stop every communication with anybody or institution regarding the payment.

These funds originated from Compensation Fund/ unpaid contract sums, inheritance/next of kin and lottery beneficiaries that originated from Europe, Asia Plus Middle East, America and Africa. You are among the list of individuals and companies whose unpaid funds have been approved for immediate payment under the supervision of the
International Monetary Fund Headquarters here in Washington, DC USA.

We hereby ask that you contact this office within 48 hours of receiving this notification.Please reconfirm to us with your full detail so that we will check if what we have in the payment file number 102 is correct about you to enable us process your payment and have it disbursed to you immediately. I will be waiting to hear from
you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Mr John Lewis
Coordinator, International Settlement Unit
IMF.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam