419 scam: "Elizabeth Mayer" <millanderson234@yahoo.co.jp> CONGRATULATIONS,LOTTERY TOP WINNER OF THE YEAR 2012

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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:

The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- ",500,000" (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)
- "00,000.00" (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!

Fraud email example:

From: "Elizabeth Mayer" <millanderson234@yahoo.co.jp>
Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2012 21:53:33 -0500
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS,LOTTERY TOP WINNER OF THE YEAR 2012

Dear sir,

Are you the owner of this email address? If yes, then congratulations.

The result of the London 2012 Olympics countdown international online
lottery draws that was released this morning shows that your email address
attached to ticket number: UK-38OLY-L4UZ was selected as one of the lucky
international winners.
Consequently,you are entitled to a lump sum payout of
US$2,500,000.00,being the prize money for winners in the international
category.

To collect your US$2,500,000.00 prize money,kindly send your name and

telephone number by email for further details.

Yours sincerely,

Elizabeth Mayer
Notification Dept.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam