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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:

Fraud email example:

From: "Ben Kelmanson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <kelmanson2021@yandex.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2021 18:29:57 +0100
Subject: <I>INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND,</I></DIV>

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND,
1900 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20431, U.S.A.
 
 
Attn:
 
We are pleased to inform you that a Power Of Attorney was sent to our office
today by one gentleman, He is an American national and his Name is Mr. Wayne
Derick, He claimed to be your next of Kin, He informed us that you are dead and you died of CoronaVirus (COVID-19) two weeks ago, he then brought his
account details to replace your information in other to claim your funds worth
of (US$5,500,000) Five Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars
which is now lying in a dormant account UNCLAIMED with a reliable bank.
 
You are therefore given 48 hours to confirm the truth to us if you are still
alive or dead, but if we fail to hear from you within 48 hours we will assume you
are truly dead and we will be left with no other option than to authorize the Bank to
transfer the said fund to Mr. Wayne Derick as your next of Kin
 
You are required to get back to us via email with your details below to prove to us that you are still alive and not dead.
 
(1) Full Name:...
(2) Country:...
(3) Home Address:....
(4) Occupation:.....
(5) Sex:.....
(6) AGE.....
(7) Tel:.....
(8) A Cope of Your Passport / DRIVERS LICENSES...
 
As soon as you provide the information above, we will inform you on how to get your fund transferred.
 
Upon your confirmation to us with a prove that you are still alive, We will
embark on a legal action against (Mr. Wayne Derick) and he will be arrested
and charge for Assault, false Information, Impersonation and Criminal Act and he
must be jailed.
 
Thanks for your cooperation.
 
Mr. Ben Kelmanson.
Senior Resident Representative,
International Monetary Funds.
Quick Reply

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