419 scam: COMMONWEALTH DONATION <commonwealth.lotto.donation@gmail.com> Confirmation E-mail Ticket NO: (CMW/091/011/UK955 )

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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:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "million united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
1. They don't notify winners by email.
2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
- +447024027476 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
- +2347032455922 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: COMMONWEALTH DONATION <commonwealth.lotto.donation@gmail.com>
Reply-To: directverification@live.com
Date: Thu, 19 May 2011 17:23:24 -0700
Subject: Confirmation E-mail Ticket NO: (CMW/091/011/UK955 )

U.K COMMONWEALTH LOTTERY PROGRAM
P O BOX 1021 MANCHESTER SW1A2AH
United Kingdom
Tel: +447024027476
Ref: UK/9925G/011/
Batch: 091/011/UK955

Congratulation,

You might receive this message in your Spam folder due to high volume of
email message,please bear with us. We are happy to inform you that your
email address has won a consolation program announced For this year lottery
program which organized by COMMONWEALTH DONATION EMAIL DRAW held today 20th
May 2011 IN UK AND WEST AFRICAN. All participant were selected through a
computer balloting system drawn from Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses
from Canada, Australia, United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and
Oceania as part of our international promotions program which is conducted
annually. Your email has won you $1,000, 000.00 (One Million United States
Dollars Only). Your claim fall in our V book in WEST AFRICAN for your
payment. To claim your prize, you are advised to contact your Fiduciary
Agent Mr Scott Oyedepo in WEST AFRICAN, including your personal information
as required bellow for prompt verification and release of your prize.
=================================================================
Full Name:..............................................................
Address:.................................................................
Occupation.............................................................
Age.........................................................................
Sex.........................................................................
Telephone Number:..................................................
Country :................................................................
Your valid identity scan copy:..................................

Note! For your prompt claim contact your Fiduciary Agent with his contact
below.

*********************************************************************************************
Name: Agent Mr Scott
Official Tel: +2347032455922
Official Email: directverification@live.com
Location: West African

Congratulation from the entire staff of United Kingdom And West African
Commonwealth Lottery Program.

Sincerely,
Mr.David Michael
Director commonwealth promo

*************************************************************************************************
SECURITY PROTOCOL!!!. we advice all winners to keep their winning
information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and
your prize released to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid
double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this programmer by
non-participant or unofficial personnel.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam