419 scam: "yahoobetamail"<yahoobeta@mail.com> ***SPAM*** CONGATULATIONS....

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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:
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "claims 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)
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
- "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 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.
- fpacompy2009@hotmail.com (Hotmail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "yahoobetamail" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <fpacompy2009@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:58:36 -0000
Subject: ***SPAM*** CONGATULATIONS....

If this email is not spam, click here to submit the signatures to FortiGuard - AntiSpam Service.
CONGRATULATIONS!! This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of Five Hundred Thousand Pounds (£500,000.00 ) in the YEAR 2009/2010 YAHOO! Lottery promotion which is organized by YAHOO! LOTTERY INC for the introduction and Launching of the new YAHOO BETA MAIL which all YAHOO! subscribers are required to switch to YAHOO! & MICROSOFT WINDOWS, arranged and gathered all the e-mail addresses of the people that are active online, among the Millions that subscribe at YAHOO!, HOTMAIL and others we only selected FIVE (5) candidates as our winners after undergoing the random selection process through Electronic Balloting System (E.B.S) without the candidate applied, we congratulate you for being one of the people selected. PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM You are to contact the Claim Agent Mr. Gulf Vein who will issue you a clearance paper as a winning certificate approved and certified from our Regional office in London,United Kingdom. and your prize money will be released to you from any of our regional promotion banks as directed by the claim agent.YAHOO! Beta Lottery Prize must be claimed not later than (21working days from date of Draw Notification in which Prize has been won. Note: Any prize not claimed within this period 21working days) will be forfeited. IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS: Batch number..................YBM-EBS-390AF Reff number......................YBM-EBS-719AF Winning number...............YBM-EBS-798AF You are requested to contact the Claims Agent MR. Gulf Vein and send your Identification Numbers and Personal Information to him. Mr. Gulf Vein Claims Agent & Verification Officer. Email: fpacompy2009@hotmail.com London,United Kingdom,Great Britain You are therefore advised to send the following information to them in other to facilitate the processing of your funds { Identification Numbers & Personal Information} PERSONAL INFORMATION 1. Full Name:............................................................. 2. Nationlity/Religion:................................................. 3. Contact Address:.................................................... 4. Telephone Number:................................................ 5. Fax Number:.......................................................... 6. Date of Brith:......................................................... 7. Occupation............................................................ 8. Age...................................................................... 9. Sex...................................................................... 10. Atternative E-mail address:................................... 11. Next of Kin of the Beneficlary incase..................... You are advised to keep your winning information confidential to avoid double claim and abuse of this program until your prize is paid to you. We hope you're enjoying your new Yahoo! Mail account. Now take the next step and claim your money and say thanks to Yahoo! You are required to select among the payment methods below: 1. An ATM CARD {Automatic Teller Machine card} will be send to you, then you can cash your fund in any ATM Machine in your country. Fully loaded with the specified amount £500,000.00 pounds sterlings and this will be delivered to you by our affiliated courier company. 2. A cheque of £500,000.00 pounds sterlings will be delivered to you by our affiliated courier company. 3. Bank to Bank Transfer . This prize will be released to you from any of our promotional banks as will be directed by the United Kingdom Claim/verification agent. Thanks to our major network promoters:aol.co.uk and hotmail.com Yahoo! UK & Ireland Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserve

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What can you do when you receive 419 spam