419 scam: "AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY INC." <australianlottery_a@yahoo.com.au> CONGRATULATIONS/// YOU HAVE WON AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY 2010.

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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:
- "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 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.
- +2347084154228 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- claimsagent2010@shuf.com (Shuf; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY INC." <australianlottery_a@yahoo.com.au>
Reply-To: eastwooddavid38@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:49:01 +0300 (EEST)
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS/// YOU HAVE WON AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY 2010.

FROM AUSTRALIA LOTTO LOTTERY INC.
5th Floor East
Commonwealth Center
55Currie Street
Adelaide SA 5000,
South Australia.
http://australianlotto.com.
Date:16/7/2010
Ref: 575061725
Batch: 8056490902/188
Winning no: KB8701/LPRC

CONGRATULATIONS !

Dear winner,

We are delighted to inform you of your prize release
on the 16th of July 2010 from the Australian
International Lottery program me. Which is fully based
on an electronic selection of winners using their
e-mail addresses.Your name was attached to ticket
number; 575061725 8056490902 serial number 6741137002
This batch draws the lucky numbers as follows
4-13-33-37-42bonus number 17,which consequently won
the lottery in the second category.

You here by have been approved a lump sum pay of
US$500,000.00 (FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS) in cash
credit file ref: ILP/HW 47509/02 from the total cash
prize shared amongst eight lucky winners in this
category. All participant were selected through a
computer balloting system drawn from Nine hundred
thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia,
United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and
Oceania as part of our international promotions
program which is conducted annually.

This Lottery was promoted and sponsored by a
conglomerate of some multinational companies as part
of their social responsibility to the citizens in the
communities where they have operational base. Further
more your details(e-mail address) falls within our
European representative office in Amsterdam,Holland,
as indicated in your play coupon and your prize of
US$500,000.00 will be released to you from this
regional branch office in NIGERIA WEST AFRICA, We hope
with part of your prize, you will participate in our
end of year high stakes for US$1.3 Billion
international draw.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE: Simply contact our fiduciary
agent, RV.JOHN PAUL.
EMAIL:claimsagent2010@shuf.com
Telephone +234 7084154228, to file for your claim .

Please quote your Date of draw,Reference
Number, Batch Number and Winning Number, which can be
found on the top-left corner of this message. Also,
you should give in your telephone number to help
locate your file easily. For security reasons, we
advice all winners to keep this information
confidential from the public until your claim is
processed and your prize has been released to you.

This is part of our security protocol to avoid double
claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this
programme by non-participant or UN official personnel.
Note, all winnings MUST be claimed before the 31th of
December 2010; otherwise all funds will be returned as
Unclaimed PRIZE and eventually donated to charity Organization.
Congratulations once again on your winning!

Best Regards,

Victory Williams,
AUSTRALIAN LOTTO INC AGENT 2010

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam