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:

The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "fiduciary 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)
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.
- shellaword@yahoo.fr (Yahoo, France; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: Aba Ma <aba.ma48@zumanbalanji.com>
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2010 08:28:56 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: =?utf-8?B?Q09OR1JBVFVMQVRJT05TOiBZT1UgSEFWRSBXT04gQSBMT1RURVJZIFBSSVpF?=
=?utf-8?B?4oCP?=

Shell Petroleum Development of England
=======================================================================================
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Shell Centre, London, SE1 7NA - United Kingdom

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BATCH REF: 2010 /YYa

This is to inform you that you have won a prize money ofÂ two Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds(200,000.00 GB Pounds) for the 2010 International E-mail Draw which is Organized by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

SPDC collects all the email addresses of the people that are active online, among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo, Aol, Walla,rediffmail, Gmail, Russian Mail and Hotmail and few from other e-mail providers. Six people are selected yearly to benefit from this promotion and you are one of the Selected Winners.

PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM

Winners shall be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Center. Shell Award must be claimed not later than 15 days from date of Draw Notification. Any Prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited.

Stated below is your identification number:

REFERENCE NUMBER: SPDC-012010

This numbers fall within the England Location file, you are requested to contact our fiduciary agent in London [Dr. Shell aword] with the details below and send your winning identification numbers to him;
Â
Full name.........................................
Address............................................
Age..................................................
Sex..................................................
Nationality........................................
Home Telephone #............................
Mobile Telephone #...........................
E-mail address..................................
Marital Status...................................
Occupation.......................................
Â
NOTE: The following Reference Numbers has been assigned to you and you are required to quote it in every mail that you send to us:SPDC-012010

Send your reply to Dr. Shell aword at the E-Mail:shellaword@yahoo.fr

He shall immediately commence the process that will facilitate the release of your fund to you.

Congratulations!! once again.

Yours in service,
Dr. (Mrs.) Shell aword
[Publicity Secretary]

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam