419 scam: "Microsoft Award Team" <bibliomonde@noos.fr> Microsoft Award Team

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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "yahoo lottery inc" (no such lottery exists)
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "greater london" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
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.
- +447574264886
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.
- markadams_desk002@yahoo.co.uk (Yahoo, United Kingdom; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Microsoft Award Team" <bibliomonde@noos.fr>
Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 02:18:04 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: Microsoft Award Team

Microsoft Award Team.

Baley House, Har Road

Sutton, Greater London

SM1 4te United A Kingdom.

Batch: 12/25/0340

Dear Winner

This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of five hundred thousand pounds (£500,000) for the May/June Edition 2010 Lottery promotion which is organized by YAHOO LOTTERY INC & WINDOWS LIVE.YAHOO & MICROSOFT WINDOWS, collects all the email addresses of people that are active online, among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo and Hotmail we only select five people every Month as our winners through electronic balloting System without the winner applying, we Congratulate you for being one of the people selected.

PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM

You are to contact your Claims Agent with immediate effect to facilitate the protocol of your winning prize before the expiry date of Claim; Winners shall be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Centre. Prize must be claimed not later than 15 days from date of Draw Notification after the Draw date in which Prize has won. Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited. These are your identification numbers:

Batch number....................12/25/0340

Ref number.......................Ref: MSN-L/200-26937

Winning number...................YM09788

To begin your claim please contact our licensed and

Accredited agent assigned to you

Mr. Mark Adams

(VERIFICATION DEPARTMENT MANAGER)

Email: markadams_desk002@yahoo.co.uk

Tel: +447574264886

You are therefore advised to send the following information to the claims agent to help facilitate the claims of your prize.

1. Full name............

2. Country..............

3. Contact Address........

4. Telephone Number........

5. Marital Status.........

6. Occupation.............

7. Company..............

8. Age....................

Please Note:

Msn Lottery Prize must be claimed not later than 15 days from date of Draw Notification after the Draw date in which Prize has won. Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited.

Congratulations!! Once again.

Yours in service,

Mrs. Felicia Walker

(Operation Manager)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam