419 scam: rev john <rev_williams10@yahoo.com> CONGRATULATIONS!!! AND GET BACK TO US,

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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:
- "fudiciary" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
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: rev john <rev_williams10@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 05:34:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!! AND GET BACK TO US,

ATTN:LUCKY WINNER,

THIS IS TO CONGRATULATE ONCE AGAIN FOR EMERGING AS ONE OF THE LUCKIEST WINNER OF THE TEXAS LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION INC.

SEQUELS TO YOUR EMAIL,YOU CONTACTED THE RIGHT PERSON WHOM YOU WERE DIRECTED TO FOR YOUR PRIZE CLAIMING BY THE CO-ORDINATOR OF THIS LOTTERY.

PLEASE DO FORWARD YOUR DETAILS TO US FOR THE CLAIMING OF YOUR WINNING PRIZE;

YOUR NAME

ADDRESS

COUNTRY

AGE

OCCUPATION

TELEPHONE NUMBER

MARITAL STATUS

GENDER

PLEASE DO THAT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND GET BACK TO US,

BEST REGARDS,

REVEREND WILLIAMS JOHNSON.
(TEXAS LOTTERY FUDICIARY CLAIMS AGENT)

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Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha!
Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam