419 scam: "British Online Lottery" <info@unl.co.uk> Ref. Number: BTL/491OXI/04

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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "million pounds" (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)
- ",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)
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
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.
- mr.thomashooper1@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "British Online Lottery" <info@unl.co.uk>
Reply-To: mr.thomashooper1@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:05:30 +0400 (MSD)
Subject: Ref. Number: BTL/491OXI/04

PROMOTIONS/ PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT.
60 Merriman Road
Blackheath
London SE3 8RZ
England
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Ref. Number: BTL/491OXI/04
Batch Number: 12/25/0304
Ticket Number: 564 75600545-188
Serial Number: 5388/02
14/07/2010

Attn: Winner,
ONLINE NOTIFICATION OF WINNING
BRITISH LOTTERY, officially bring to your notice the draw result of July
2010 BRITISH LOTTERY-wheel E-game which was conducted at our
international corporate office complex in The United Kingdom.
Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 56475600545-188 with serial
number 5388/02 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-31-45, which consequently won in
the 1ST category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out
of 1,000,000.00 Pounds (ONE MILLION POUNDS STERLING).CONGRATULATIONS! The
selection process was carried out through random selection in our
computerized email selection system(ess) from a database of over 250,000
email addresses drawn from which your Email was selected.

Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning
information confidential until your claims have been fully processed and
your money remitted to you.This is part of our security protocol to avoid
multiple claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by some members of
the public. For the release of your winning, kindly contact your claims
officer at the The National Lottery Head Quarters via bellow informations:

Mr Thomas Hooper
Payment and Release Order Dept.
E-mail mr.thomashooper1@hotmail.com

Furthermore, should there be any change in your address, do inform your
Claims officer as soon as possible.Complete the form below and send it to
the claims officer via email:
Full name:..
Date of birth:..
Sex:..
Marital status:..
Email:..
Occupation:..
Nationality:..
Lotto Batch Number:..
Lotto Reference Numbers:..
phone Number:..
Address:..
Country of Residence:..
Collection of winning prize:
ELECTRONIC BANK TRANSFER(BANK TO BANK TRANSFER)
Upon completion of the above form,you will be directed to contact the
courier company or paying bank in charge of transfer of winning funds to
winners.
Congratulations once again from all members of our staff and thanks for
being part of our promotions program.
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs.Rose Johnson,
Executive (International Sweepstakes)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam