419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "microsoft mega jackpot lottery" (no such lottery exists)
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- ",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.
- +447024017906 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
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.
- aukclaims@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTERY U.K."
<microsoftpromotionaward303@googlemail.com>
Reply-To: aukclaims@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 18:37:17 +0700 (WIT)
Subject: CONGRATULATION!!! YOU EMERGED THE WINNER.

MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTERY U.K.

REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L
BATCH: 4583JL/WIN

MICROSOFT EMAIL LOTTERY AWARD PROMOTION: UNITED KINGDOM

Finally today, we announce the winners of the MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTO
WINNINGS PROGRAMS held on Monday, 25 January, 2010. Your company or your
personal e-mail address, attached to winning number 23-76-06-54-42-100,
With serial number 647489, consequently won in the Tenth lottery category.

You have been approved for lump sums pay out of £1,000,000.00 Pounds in
cash Credited to file REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L and winning number
23-76-06-54-42-100. Selection process was carried out through random
selection in our computerized email selection machine (TOPAZ) from a
database of over 1,000,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents
of the world.

The online draws was conducted by a random selection of email addresses
from an exclusive list of 29,031 E-mail addresses of individuals and
corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search
from the internet. No ticket were sold but all email addresses were
assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and privacy. This
is to encourage our prominent Microsoft Internet Explorer users all over
the world, and for the Continues use of E-mail.

Your fund (Certified Cashiers Cheque) has been insured with your REF NO:
MSW/56B-672GH/L and winning number 23-76-06-54-42-100. To claim your
winning prize, you must first contact the claims department by email for
Processing and remittance of your prize to you.

The Claims Processor:
Name: Mr.Green Anderson
E-mail:aukclaims@yahoo.co.uk
Phone:+:+447024017906

Mr.Green Anderson
Claims Officer U.K.

Do email the above email address all at once. In order to avoid
unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your
reference and winning numbers in all correspondences with your claims
officer. You are to keep all lotto information away from the general
public especially your ticket number and ballot number.
(This is important as a case of double claims will not be entertained)

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU ARE TO SEND THE BELOW INFORMATION REQUIRED TO CLAIM
YOUR WINNING PRIZE:
1.Full Name:...............................................................
2.Address:..................................................................
3.Nationality:..............................................................
4.Age:.........................Date of Birth:..............................
5.Occupation:.............................................................
6.Home Tel:...........Mobile Tel:................Fax:...................
7.State of Origin:......................Country:.........................

Sincerely,
Dr Phillip George
Secretary

Dr. Phillip George
Mrs. Grace Williams
Secretary
Online Co-ordinator

LOTTERY SPONSOR
Microsoft Corporation U.K.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Note;

Do not reply this mail, you are to contact your claims officer immediately
by email. Microsoft Electronic Mail Lottery is approved and Licensed by
the The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam