419 scam: "Mega Millions Notification."<ntai66@yahoo.cn> (no subject)

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "foreign service manager" (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)
- ",500,000" (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)
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.
- +447624190326

Fraud email example:

From: "Mega Millions Notification." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <pmusheshi102@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:32:42 +0200
Subject:

We are pleased to inform you that one of the best things that can happen to any Internet
user is to be rewarded for spending money and time on the Internet. You may not have
known that over one hundred billion people daily surf the Internet on regular basis for
one reason or other. These Internet users including your self, pay access fees to various
Internet Service Providers (ISP) all over the word who in turn remit surplus funds to the
numerous World Wide Internet Technology Companies (WWITC) for the development
and advancement of Global Information Technology.

Your E-mail address was picked for Category 'A' Winner. After the automated computer
ballot, You/Your Company e-mail Address attached with Ref #: L/200-26937 and Batch:
2010MJL-01 with serial number 000-15drew The lucky numbers 25-1-06-7-34-23 and
consequently won in the First quarter of the 2010 year draw. You have therefore been
approved for a lump sum pay out of £2,500,000(Two Million Five Hundred Thousand
British Pounds Sterling) in cash, which is the winning payout for First category winner.
To file for your claim, please contact our claims agent below; for due processing and
remittance of your prize money not later than two weeks after this date, otherwise, all
funds will be returned as Unclaimed.

Mr. Paul Gardner
Foreign Service Manager
Crusaders Hotspur
Tel/Fax: +44-762-419-0326

Ensure to provide him with the requested information below so that he can expedite the
processing of your claims.

1. Full Name:
2. Full Address:
3. Marital Status:
4. Occupation:
5. Age:
6. Sex:
7. Nationality:
8. Country of Residence:
9. Telephone/Fax Number:
10. Your winning Batch and Reference Numbers:

NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to
quote your Reference and Batch numbers in every one of your correspondences with your
agent. Furthermore you are seriously advised to keep all winning lottery information and
numbers from the public in line with our company security protocol to avoid double
claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by unscrupulous individuals. Again,
should there be any change in your address, do inform your claims agent as soon as
possible.

Congratulations once more from all members and staff of this program.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Natasha Washington

Mega Millions

Copyright © 2010 Mega Millions Lottery®. All rights reserved.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam