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:

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:
- "yahoo lottery inc" (no such lottery exists)
- "yahoo/msnlottery incoperation" (no such lottery exists)
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "greater london" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- ",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)
- "yahmsnpayoutunit_1@msn.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
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.
- +447947256126

Fraud email example:

From: "Yahoo/MsnLottery" <info@yahoolottery.co.uk>
Reply-To: Yahmsnpayoutunit_1@msn.com
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 02:47:57 +1000 (YAKST)
Subject: Congratulation You Have Just Been Awarded The sum Of
=?iso-8859-1?Q?=A31=2C000=2C000_GBP_!_!_!?=

Yahoo/MsnLottery
Incoperation Baley House,
Har RoadSutton, Greater
London SM1 4te United Kingdom

Ref: YM35447XN
Batch: BL/E/05563
Dear Sir/Madam,

Dear Lucky Winner This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of
(1,000,000.00 pounds sterling's) One million Great Britain pounds for the
Annual 2010 Lottery promotion which is organized by MSN/YAHOO LOTTERY
INCLIVE in conjunction with the MICROSOFT WINDOWS.MSN/YAHOO
WINDOWS,collects all the email addresses of the people that are active
online,among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo,Hotmail and various
Microsoft window users,we only select five people as our winners, through
electronic balloting System without the winner applying.

Msn/Yahoo Lottery Prize must be claimed not later than 7days from the date
of this Notification after the Draw date in which Prize has won. Any prize
not claimed within this period will be forfeited.

Our Event Manager will immediately commence the process to facilitate the
release of your funds as soon as you contact him. For security reasons,
you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your
claims is processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our
precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of
this program,Please be warned.

To file for your claim,please contact our pay-out officer with your current
personal data, below are the information you are expected to forward to him:

CLAIMS VALIDATION FORM
1. FULL NAMES:______________________
2. NATIONALITY:_____________________
3. AGE______________________________
4. SEX:_____________________________
5. MARITAL STATUS:__________________
6. CONTACT ADDRESS:_________________
7. TELEPHONE NUMBER:________________
8. OCCUPATION:______________________
9. WINNING E-MAIL ADDRESS:__________
10. CHOOSE MODE OF PAYMENT:_________
[A],COURIER DELIVERY [B],BANK ONLINE WIRE TRANSFER

Kindly find below the contact details of the Pay-Out Official:

Name: Wilfred Lenz.
Email: Yahmsnpayoutunit_1@msn.com
Tel: +447947256126

For more procedure on your claim price, you are expected to call him on phone
to know the next step on how your cash price will be transfered to your local
bank account,Thanks.

Once again Congratulations on behalf of Staff's and member of the YAHOO /MSN
LOTTERY INTL INC!!!

Wilfred Lenz
Pay-Out Officer.
Microsoft Building,
The Yahoo/Msn.com staff

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam