419 scam: "Sir. Anthony Bruno." <internationalmonetaryfund201@gmail.com> 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:
- "western union" (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. )
- "mtcn" (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. )
- "high court" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
- "federal high court" (This court is often mentioned in '419' scams to give the victim a reason why he/she should send thousands of dollars to the scammers. A 'Federal High Court' exists in Germany and Nigeria, but not in other countries, such as the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Senegal, Benin, South Africa or other countries where fake lawyers in scams often claim to be based. )
- "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.

Fraud email example:

From: "Sir. Anthony Bruno." <internationalmonetaryfund201@gmail.com>
Reply-To: internationalmonetaryfund2013@barid.com
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 21:45:27 -0300 (BRT)
Subject: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
23 HERBERT MARCULARY AVENUE
COTONOU-BENIN REPUBLIC
FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY (F.C.T.)

I am Sir. Anthony Bruno, a highly placed official officer of the
International Monetary Fund, Cotonou-Benin republic, West Africa (I.M.F.).
I went to the Western Union this morning to examine exactly what is going
on about the documents we request from you to enable us permit the Western
Union Office to release the payment to you and Dr. Philip Desmond the
Western Union Operation Manager told me that you called them Scammer. Is
that true?

I'm a highly placed official officer in I.M.F Office Benin republic and I
stand hereby telling you that they are not Scammer. I know them as Western
Union Money Transfer Office (WUMTO) . We are International Monetary Fund
unit, Cotonou-Benin republic and we monitor every transaction in Benin
republic.

So, when we discovered that Dr. Philip Desmond wanted to start
transferring payment funds to you we then put everything that they are
doing on hold and asked them to provide you or they will be arrested so
Dr. Philip Desmond told us that you are in Not In the country and it's
difficult for you to come here. So that was reason why we gave you the
$100 to pay to enable us allow the Western Union, Cotonou- Benin republic
to start transferring the funds to you.

The bill of $100 that they asked you to pay is because Dr. Philip said
that you can't be able to trip down here and sign the IMF Tax Certificate
and IMF Insurance Certificate so that was the reason why we gave you the
two option either to pay the $100 for we to issue the documents or you
come down here and sign the documents with your hands. This $100.00 is
just to enable our Attorney go the Federal High Court, Cotonou- Benin
republic so that the court will approve the documents.

We are looking forward to hearing from you. For more information on this
matter.

Receiver's Name:JACK EDU
Country: Benin Republic.
City: Cotonou
Text Question: HOW LONG?
Text Answer: TODAY
Amount: $100
MTCN Number===
Sender's Name:===
We are looking forward to hear from you.
Thank you.
Director:
Sir. Anthony Bruno.
I.M.F. (International Monetary Funds.
Contact:internationalmonetaryfund2013@barid.com
Western Union Headquarter Benin.
Send Money Worldwide.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam