419 scam: "MICROSOFT COOPERATION"<microsoft@lotto.co.uk> Dear lucky winner

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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",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)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
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.
- +447035900145 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "MICROSOFT COOPERATION" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <vancruz001@msn.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:32:23 +0100
Subject: Dear lucky winner

FROM THE DESK OF THE MICROSOFT
COORDINATOR {MICROSOFT GLOBAL E-MAIL LOTTERY}
INTERNATIONAL PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT
LONDON,NW10,ENGLAND,UNITED KINGDOM
FILE REF:HL/8121/31/11/MICS
BATCH: MC44/707/3PDH /EU

OFFICIAL WINNING NOTIFICATION:

DEAR WINNER:

It is obvious that this notification will come to you as a surprise but please find time to read it carefully as we congratulate you over your success in the following official publication of results of the E-mail electronic online Sweepstakes organized by Microsoft,in conjunction with the foundation for the promotion of software products,(F.P.S.)held on the 25th of May 2009,in United kingdom.

Wherein your electronic email address emerged as one of the onlinewinning emails in the 1st category and therefore attracted a cash award of £1,000,000.00 GBP (One Million Great BRitish Pounds only) which your file falls in our LONDON Claim office in UK

Our winners are arranged into four categories with different winning prizes accordingly in each category. They are arranged in this format below:

CATEGORY NO.OF WINNERS WINNING PRIZES

1st. 2 £1,000,000.00 GBP each

2nd. 8 £800,000.00 GBP each

3rd. 13 £470,000.00 GBP each

4th. 27 £170,000.00 GBP each

We write to officially notify you of this award and to advise you to contact the processing office immediately upon receipt of this message for more information concerning the verification, processing and eventual payment of the above prize to you.

It is important to note that your award information was released with the following particulars attached to it.
(1) Award numbers: NL 62/7811
(2) Email ticket numbers: NL901/33/65
(3) Batch numbers: MC44/707/3PDH /EU
(4) The file reference numbers: HL/8121/31/11/MICS
{5} Serial Numbers:McST/030/NL0981

CLAIMS REQUIREMENTS:
1. Full names:
2. Residential address:
3. Phone number:
4. Fax number:
5. Occupation:
6. Sex:
7. Age:
8. Nationality:
9. Present Country:
10.Next of kin name/address:
Mode Of Price Remittance.

1) Courier Delivery Of your Certified Winning Cheque Name and other
Winning Documents safely to you.
2) Bank to bank transfer

To file for your claim,Please contact your Validating Officer for VALIDATION of your winning within Twenty-nine working days of this winning notification. Winnings that are not validated within Twenty-nine working days of winning notification are termed void and invalid. You are required to mention the above particulars of your award in every correspondence to enable the Agent in South Africa validate your winning
CONTACT:
*******************************************************************
FOREIGN TRANSFER MANAGER
NAME MR.VAN CRUZ

MICROSOFT SECURITY DEPARTMENT(RSA)
TEL:+44 7035900145
E-mail: vancruz001@msn.com
********************************************************************
The Microsoft Internet E-mail lottery Awards is sponsored by our
CEO/Chairman, Bill Gates: and a consortium of software promotion companies. The Intel Group, Toshiba, Dell Computers and other International Companies. The Microsoft internet E-mail draw is held periodically and is organized to encourage the use of the Internet and promote computer literacy worldwide.

Once again on behalf of all our staff,

CONGRATULATIONS!

Yours faithfully,

Dr.Smith Van Dijk
MICROSOFT E-MAIL LOTTERY PROMOTION COORDINATOR.

MicrosoftMSN

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam