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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: "Dr. Robert Carter" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <imfpaymentmgt@citromail.hu>
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2023 14:22:22 -0800
Subject: REPLY ASAP

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF)
International Settlement Unit,
1900 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20431, USA
Fax: + 1 (202) 623-4661 
 
Attention:
 
This is to inform you that you are among those whose pending payment has been approved by the IMF in conjunction with the World Bank. The fund release has been delayed as a result of your dealings with unauthorized individuals, so you are advised to stop every communication with anybody/institution regarding the payment.
 
These funds emerged from unpaid Insurance, Pension, 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 payment under the supervision of the International Monetary Fund Headquarters here in Washington, DC USA.
 
We do hereby ask you to contact this office within 48 hours of receiving this notification. Please reconfirm your full name and contact telephone number to enable us to normalize the documents in your name and advise you on how to make your claim.
 
We await your urgent response and for more clarifications, send your reply to this email address which is ( imfpaymentmgt@citromail.hu )
 
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Robert Carter
Coordinator, International Settlement Unit.

Anti-fraud resources: