419 scam: Mr Williams Agabi <info@bmw.com> Congratulations!

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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "22 garden close, stamford" (address often used in fake lottery scams)
- "the bmw automobile company" (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")
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.
- williams_agabi1@mail.com (Mail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: Mr Williams Agabi <info@bmw.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: williams_agabi1@mail.com
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2010 17:42:37 +0200 (EET)
Subject: Congratulations!

THE INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS
PROMOTION DEPARTMENT OF
THE BMW AUTOMOBILE COMPANY.
22 Garden Close, Stamford,
Lincs, PE9 2YP, London
United Kingdom.

The Board of Directors, members of staff and the International Awareness
Promotion Department of the BMW Automobile Company, wishes to congratulate you
on your success as one of our TEN(10) STAR PRIZE WINNER in this years' BMW
Automobile International Awareness Promotion (IAP)Hold on March, 2010,in London.

This makes you a proud owner of a brand new BMW 5 Series, M Sport Saloon car
and a cash prize of £750,000.00 GBP (Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great
British pounds).
Note: You are to keep your winnings and the following below strictly
confidential so as to avoid double claims and complications:
Reference Number: BMW:2551256003/23
Ticket number: 5647600545188
Serial number: BMWP/556543450906

For you to collect your prizes, kindly fill the verification form below and
send it to the BMW Claims Manager, Mr. williams agabi of our claims office
through email, stating your receipt of this notification. He has been mandated
to offer you assistance and facilitate the urgent delivery of your prizes.

MR. Williams Agabi
EMAIL: williams_agabi1@mail.com
VERIFICATION FORM:
1.) FULL NAME:
2.) AGE:
3.) SEX:
4.) ADDRESS:
5.) COUNTRY:
6.) PHONE:
7.) OCCUPATION/POSITION:

Congratulations once more, and keep trusting BMW Automobile for top quality
automobiles.
ENGR.LLOYD BRADFORD
DIRECTOR OF PROMOTIONS,
INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS PROMOTIONS,
BMW AUTOMOBILE.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam