419 scam: Yolanda Elvis <info_elgordo@zwallet.com> Yolanda ElvisION/ FINAL NOTICEDE OIL SHELL LOTTERY WINNPŒë¸"

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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "el gordo " (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- ",000,000" (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!
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.
- hmconsultantsa@netscape.net (Netscape; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: Yolanda Elvis <info_elgordo@zwallet.com>
Reply-To: harmonyconsultsa@zwallet.com
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 23:53:56 -0800
Subject: Yolanda Elvis

FROM THE DESK OF THE PROMOTIONS MANAGER,
YULETIDE SESSION LOTTERY AWARD
EUROPEAN UNION INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS AWARD DEPARTMENT.
Ref: FER/4690/6103/24
Batch:245-379-482
Winning No:701/RMD123
Dear Lottery Winner,
YULETIDE SESSION AWARD NOTIFICATION
We happily announce to you the draw of the EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA Lottery Program
held on the 1st of December, 2005. Your name "email address" was
attached to ticket number; 12324277 serial number 6663817262 this batch
draws the lucky numbers as follows 2-9-22-23-24-30 bonus number 5, which
consequently won the lottery in the second category. You hereby have
been approved lump sum pay of 600,000.00Euro (SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND EURO)
file Ref: FER/8309/1209/26 from the total cash prize of 6,000,000.00 shared
amongst ten lucky winners based on their category. All participants
"email address" were selected through a computer balloting system drawn
from Nine hundred thousand names from Canada, Australia, United States,
Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceanic as part of our
international promotions program which is conducted annually. This
Lottery was promoted and sponsored by some multinational companies
including Bill Gate and some other EU governmental personalities as part
of their social responsibility to the citizens in the communities where
they have operational base. To process your claims you are hereby advice
to contact your/our accredited claim agent for EUROPEAN UNION
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS
================================================
MR. JAMES ROBERTS
HARMONY CONSULTANT AGENCY S.A.
TEL: (34)-637-708-803
FAX: (34)-911-518-435
E MAIL: hmconsultantsa@netscape.net
================================================
Be well informed, all winning must be claimed not later than 24th
December 2005. After this date all unclaimed funds will be included in
the next year stake. For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep
this 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 dual claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this
program by non-participant or unofficial personnel. Congratulations once
again on your winnings!!!
Yours faithfully,
Yolanda Elvis
Yuletide Session Co-coordinator .

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam