419 scam: "Yahoo MSN Group" <y.msngroup80@yahoo.com.hk> Confirmation Of ID?

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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:
- "fudiciary" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "greater london" (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)
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.
- +447035935374 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Yahoo MSN Group" <y.msngroup80@yahoo.com.hk>
Reply-To: paulsongreg02@live.co.uk
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:31:46 -0200
Subject: Confirmation Of ID?

Yahoo Lottery
In-coporation
Baley House, Har Road
Sutton, Greater London
SM1 4te
United Kingdom

Attn Lucky Winner,
We are pleased to inform you that you have emerged as a winner in our
monthly YAHOO & HOTMAIL MICROSOFT WINDOWS LIVE Lottery Programs Year
(2009).
Your email address was selected by our Electronic Random Selection System
(ERSS)
from an exclusive list of 30,000,000 e-mail addresses of individual and
corporate bodies
generated from an internet resource database. No tickets were sold.
Your email address is identified with Batch Number: YHM09102XN and Ticket
Number: YHM09788 in Category "B" and your claims portfolio is
filled with Ref Number:YHM35447XN.You are therefore advised to receive a
cash prize of £500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Great
British Pound) from the total payout, and and a Brand New BMW X5 JEEP
CONGRATULATIONS!
Your prize award has been insured under a bonded depository policy with
your e-mail address, and will be transferred to you upon meeting the claims
requirements, statutory obligations, verifications, validations and
satisfactory report.
To file for the processing of your prize sum payment, you are advised to
contact our Fiduciary Manager for category "B" winners
with the information below:
*************************************
Name:MR.Paulson Greg
REMMITANCE DIRECTOR
YAHOO PROMOTIONS UK
E-mail: paulsongreg02@live.co.uk
Tel: +44 703 593 5374
Fax: +44 703 594 3668

*************************************
Endeavour to provide him with the following information in your contact
with him.
1. Full Name
2. Country.
3. Tel and fax number.
4. Occupation.
5. Address.

NOTE: All winnings must be claimed not later than 15 days, thereafter
unclaimed funds would be included in the next stake. Remember to quote your
reference information in all correspondence.
You are to keep all lotto information confidential, especially your
reference and ticket numbers. This is important as a case of double claims
will not be entertained.
Members of staff of affiliate agencies are automatically not allowed to
participate in this program. Furthermore, should there be any change of
address do inform our Fudiciary manager as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being
part of our promotional programs.
Yours Faithfully,
Mrs Linda Williams
(Online co-ordinator)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam