419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "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)
- "u.k " (this email uses bad English)
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.
- +447035969807 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- hpclaimoffice@rocketmail.com (Rocketmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)
- owner of this email address; ***send your replies to hpclaimoffice@rocketmail.com for a quick response*** this is to inform you that (Rocketmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "GRAFEIO TIPOU (PEGI)" <notification@hpcomputer.com>
Reply-To: hpwclaimcenter_uk@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 09 Sep 2012 12:21:58 +0300
Subject: =?utf-8?Q?You_Have_Won_=28=C2=A3500=2C000=2E00_GBP=29=E2=80=8F_Fro?=
=?utf-8?Q?m_hp_Computer_Lottery?=

HP WORLD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC
Amen Corner Cain Road
Bracknell Berkshire, RG12 1HN
Registered Number: 690597 ENGLAND

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Dear Winner,

ATTENTION TO THE OWNER OF THIS EMAIL ADDRESS;

***SEND YOUR REPLIES TO hpclaimoffice@rocketmail.com FOR A QUICK RESPONSE***

This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of ( 500,000.00 GBP) Five Hundred Thousand Pound Only for the yearly Prize promotion which was organized by England (HPWEL) in collaboration with UK Government,United State Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),Dell Computer,Samsung Computer and Apple Computer.

Among the millions that subscribed to various websites with their emails, only Six people are selected yearly to benefit from this promotion and you are one of the Selected Winners.

We wish to inform you that your total prize money of ( 500,000.00 GBP) has been returned to us by our Lotto claims delivery company as unclaimed prize after their initial letter to your address for your payment was not successful.You are here by requested to contact our Treasury Officer on telephone number or e-mail for your immediate payment. Our Treasury officer's name is

Prof. Martin Patt

Contact E-mail: hpclaimoffice@rocketmail.com or hpwclaimcenter_uk@hotmail.com
Phone : +447035969807

APPLICATION FOR FUND RELEASE

My full name___________________________________________

My Address_____________________________________________

My Country_____________________________________________

My Mobile Telephone #________________________________

My Work Telephone #____________________________________

My Fax #_______________________________________________

So refer this to him and contact him immediately for your unclaimed lotto prize payment to you.You should contact our Treasury Officer as directed above for your payment, and do notify me as soon as you received your payment from our Treasurer.

FOR HEWLETT PACKARD OFFICE CENTER:
Raymond Lane
(Executive Chairman)
Meg Whitman
(President & CEO)

Please Note: In compliance to the Privacy Policy Act of the U.K HP WORLD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC Email Draw Promotion, Winners are advised to keep this notification confidential until payment is concluded .This is for your security and to avoid Unwarranted duplication of claims.[Total]

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam