419 scam: "Yahoo/Microsoft Award Lottery 2010" <nlpke@bupt.edu.cn> Attn: Dear Email Winner ( Congratulations once again )

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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "microsoft lottery" (no such lottery exists)
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "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.
- boarduk01@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: <boarduk01@aim.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2010 13:00:17 -0700
Subject: Attn: Dear Email Winner ( Congratulations once again )

Yahoo/Microsoft Lottery Incorporation
10 Bina Gardens,
South Kensington,
London.
United Kingdom.

Dear Email Winner,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the just concluded draws
held { 11th setpember 2010} by Yahoo/MSN{Hotmail} in conjunction
with gmx.com and Ipod Worldwide Promotion.
Your email was among the 20 Lucky winners who won 500,000.00 GBP{ Five Hundred Thusand Great Britain Pounds} each in the Yahoo/MSN{Microsoft} 2010
Online Promo. This draw is being organized to create and improve a larger
awareness record for internet users worldwide.

However the results were released on the { 12th setpember, 2010} and
your email was attached to ticket number ( 7PWYZ2010) and ballot number
(BT:12052010/20) The online draws was conducted by a random selection of
email addresses from an exclusive list of 29,031,643 E-mail addresses of
individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random
computer search from the internet. However, no tickets were sold but all
email addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for
representation and privacy.

The selection process was carried out through random selection in our
computerized email selection machine (TOPAZ) .
This Lottery is approved by the British Gaming Board and also licensed by
the The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).This lottery
is the 3rd of its kind and we intend to sensitize the public.

To begin the claim processing of your prize you are to contact the Online
Co-ordinator and provide him with the following informations as stated
below, so we can proceed with the verification and clearance process of
your file.

1. Full Names : ...........................

2. Residential Address :...................

3. Phone Number:...........................

4. Fax Number :............................

5. Occupation : ..........................

6. Sex :..................................

7. Age : .................................

8. Nationality:...........................

Dr Bryan Howard
Online Co-ordinator.
Email: boarduk01@aim.com

*You are adviced to forward these informations as soon as possible to
enable us attend to your file.

This email is registered and sent only to a certified Yahoo/MSN{Microsoft}
promo winner.

You are to keep this award strictly from public notice until your claim
has been processed and your money remitted to you.
This is part of our security protocol to avoid issues of friends or
relatives trying to claim a prize on the rightful winner's behalf.

Our special thanks and gratitude to Bill Gates and associates.Accept our
hearty congratulations once again.

Yours Faithfully,
Mrs Rose Anderson
Head Of Council
Verifications Dept.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam