419 scam: =?UNKNOWN?Q?Google=A9?= United Kingdom <gmfred.clarke@admin.in.th> GM

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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:
- ",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)
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!

Fraud email example:

From: =?UNKNOWN?Q?Google=A9?= United Kingdom <gmfred.clarke@admin.in.th>
Reply-To: gmnotice@att.net
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:02:10 -0600
Subject: GM

Dear Customer,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the just concluded draws held by Google© United Kingdom. Your E-mail was attached to G-Code No: GAP/275-XX-9384-10/UK (Batch No: 1313BAN). The online draws was conducted by a random selection of E-mail 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.

No Tickets were sold but all E-mail addresses were assigned to different G-Code Numbers for representation and privacy. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £1,000,000.00 GBP {One Million Great Britain Pounds Sterling}. To begin the Claim processing, verification and clearance of your prize you are to contact your payment officer with the details below:

1. Full Names: 2. Residential Address: 3. Telephone/Mobile/Fax Number: 4. Sex: 5. Age: 6. Nationality: 7. Next Of Kin

Claims/verification officer: Mr. Kevin Jackson.

E-mail: gmnotice@att.net

Mrs. Nancy L. Flynn (GM Team).

Online Coordinator, Management.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam