419 scam: "Yahoo Internet Awards Inc."<yah.alerts111@alestra.net.mx> RE: THE DETAILS OF YOUR AWARD...@##

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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:
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "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 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.
- revevansdomarsky@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Yahoo Internet Awards Inc." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <worldwide.claim.live@live.com>
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 03:46:49 -0700
Subject: RE: THE DETAILS OF YOUR AWARD...@##

THE YAHOO INTERNET LOTTERY AWARD CENTER IN ------------ LONDON----------- United Kingdom #:77-80 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0AS U.K YOU HAVE WON £800,000.00 POUNDS FROM YAHOO 2009 INTERNET AWARDS LOTTERY!! Dear: Email Owner, CONGRATULATIONS!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! YAHOO INTERNET AWARDS IN LONDON This is to inform you that you have won prize money of GBP800, 000. 00 British Pounds (Eight Hundred Thousand British Pounds). Only for the email users this 2009 Prize promotion which is organized by YAHOO INTERNET AWARDS 2009. Yahoo! Collects all the email addresses of the people that are active online this 2009, among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo and few from other e-mail providers. 12 people are selected monthly to benefit from this promotion and you are one of the Selected Winners the month of, June 2009. PAYMENT OF PRIZE / CLAIMS Winners shall be paid in accordance with their Settlement Centers. Yahoo Prize Award must be claimed not less than 3Weeks from the date of Draw Notification. Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited and returned to its source as unclaimed Prize/Fund. STATED BELOW ARE YOUR IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS: BATCH NUMBER: MFI/07/APA-53659 REFERENCE NUMBER: 2009234523 FILE NUMBER: YAHOO/UK76-441/09 You are Advised to contact your Claim Agent with the below contact details and forward your winning and personal identification numbers to him: CLAIM AGENT NAME : REV EVANS DOMARSKY CONTACT E-MAIL: worldwide.claim.live@live.com PERSONAL E-MAIL: revevansdomarsky@hotmail.com You are advised to send the below following information to your claim agent to enable him facilitate the release of your fund to you by our Paying Bank. 1. Your Full name: 2. Your Country: 3. Contact Address: 4. Telephone Number: 5. Fax Number: 6. Marital Status: 7. Occupation: 8. Sex: 9. Age: Congratulations!!! Once again. Yours in service, Mrs. Susan Robson. (Awards Notification Officer)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam