419 scam: "John Stefanidis III"<johnstefanidisiii@washingtondc.usa.com> To Whom It May Concern,

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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:

The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "diplomatic immunity"
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. )
- "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. )
- "diplomatic immunity" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "John Stefanidis III" (may be fake)
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:03:37 -0800
Subject: To Whom It May Concern,

Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW Washington, D.C

To Whom It May Concern,

I am John Stefanidis III the State Monitoring FBI Agent here in the United States of America. I received a notice from one of our Monitoring Agents in Africa last week concerning the critical problem you’ve been going through over the years in trying to receive your over-due payment in Africa. We also discovered that you’re been asked to provide a Diplomatic Immunity Seal of Transfer (DIST) before your transfer could be successfully. “To the best of our knowledge, you’re not responsible for this certificate. It has to be issued to you for free of charge by the Nigeria Government”

Your contact email address and payment file number was forwarded to my office on the 14th of March, 2010 and after proper investigation was carried out, we found out that your outstanding fund had been transferred to our paying bank (Chase Bank) here in the United States but due to the reason that they didn’t receive your FUND ORIGIN CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) they refused to remit the fund into your own bank account.

We vehemently advise you come down to our office via the above contact address with the sum of US$620 couple with your recent passport photograph so we can obtain the ORIGIN CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on your behalf so as to be at the safer side. But if you can’t come to our office for some reasons, kindly inform us so we can give you a proper direction on how you can go about everything.

Please note that this transfer must be made before the end of this week to avoid any fee such as demurrage. Immediately we obtain the FUND ORIGIN CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE today, it will be taken to the bank by our secretary so the bank can remit the fund into your bank account with immediate effect.

Do not reply to this mailbox: fbi@fbi.gov due to JavaScript page error

Best Regards,
Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW Washington, D.C

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam