419 scam: International Monetary Fund <info@imf.org> 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:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "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. )
- "money gram" (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. )
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: International Monetary Fund <info@imf.org>
Reply-To: jonesrobinsonimfofficial@gmx.com
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2015 06:10:54 -0600
Subject: International Monetary Fund

--
FROM THE DESK OF:
International Monetary Fund
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20220
+1 330 970 7471

Attention Beneficiary!!
I am Mr. Jones Robinson Director in charge of the compensation funds to
scam victims from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It may interest
you to know that reports have reached our office by so many
correspondence on the uneasy way which people like you are treated by
Various Banks and Courier Companies across Europe to Africa and Asia and
we have decided to put a stop to that and that is why the IMF was
appointed to monitor your transaction here in Africa and Europe from the
(IMF) that your compensation funds gets to you.

After proper investigations and research at Western Union Money Transfer
and
Money Gram office to know if you have truly sent money to the scam
Syndicates through Western Union Money Transfer or Money Gram, your name
was
found in Western Union Money Transfer database amongst those that have
sent
money through Western Union Money Transfer to Nigeria.

In view of the determination and commitment of this New Government to
ensure that every outstanding foreign beneficiaries debts are settled,
but to our greatest dismay, despite all the effort made last year to
ensure that most foreign beneficiaries receive their payment, record
still show that a lot of foreign beneficiaries did not receive their
payment due to their inability to settle some outstanding up-front
obligation to the Federal Government.
You have truly been swindled by those unscrupulous persons by sending
money to them in the course of getting one fund or the other that is not
real,
right now the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is Monitoring all
Compensation funds.

In this regard a meeting was held between the Board of Directors of The
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
investigations it was agreed that you will be compensated with the sum
of One Million Five Hundred Thousand American Dollar
by the Federal Government of Nigeria which has set aside as a
compensation to everyone who have by one way or the other sent money to
fraudsters in Nigeria.and those not in Nigeria would be paid by he
UNITED NATIONS in the United Kingdom.

The below website can be more reference:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4320984.stm
NAME:............................................
ADDRESS:...........................................
OCCUPATION:..........................................
TELEPHONE NUMBER:....................................

Inform them about this notification letter and the transfer of your
fund;and if you were not scammed from Nigeria your request would be
transferred to the paying Organization

Yours sincerely,
Jones Robinson
Director In Charge,
International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam