419 scam: Helen Davis <wood0843@webmail.benedictine.edu> The file Ref number:EM/04678/AA.

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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 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: Helen Davis <wood0843@webmail.benedictine.edu> (may be fake)
Reply-To: rr4ref@live.com
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:44:09 -0500
Subject: The file Ref number:EM/04678/AA.

Dear Winner,

We are happy to inform you that you have emerged a winner under the First
Category, which is part of our promotional draws. The draws are being
officially announced NOW You have therefore been awarded a lump sum
1.000.000.00 Euros.(One Million Euros)
(i) The file Ref number:EM/04678/AA.
(ii) Result winning numbers: 2-5-0-4-9.
(iii) Email ticket number: 754/22/76.
(iv) Lotto code number: MAD33964BL.
SOL CLAIMING AGENCY
Mr Oliver Page
Email:rr4ref@live.com
Sincerely Yours,
Mrs HELEN DAVIS
PROMOTION CO-ORDINATOR

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam