419 scam: "MTV MOVIE AWARD PROMOTION" RE: IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO THE USER

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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:
- "claim 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)
- "arthurwilliams@w.cn" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
- "arthurwilliams03@post.ro" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
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.
- +2347065229840 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "MTV MOVIE AWARD PROMOTION" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <arthurwilliams01@w.cn>
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:04:21 -0700
Subject: RE: IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO THE USER

Dear Internet User.

We are happy to inform you that your email address have emerged winner of (DOLLARS $500,000) in MTV MOVIE AWARD PROMOTION.

The online cyber draws was conducted from an exclusive list of 500,000.00 email addresses of individuals,corporate bodies,Students and staff email addresses picked by an advanced automated random computer selection from the web.

Your email address is attached to
REF NO: MTV/1597713547/4
BATCH NO: MTV/32820177/4
Serial No: 57306-09
Ticket number: 715-693542-09
lucky numbers: 90-44-88-22-09

Bear in mind that prizes will strictly be remitted to winners that officially file in for their claim within the given time frame below,

Note: All Won Prize must Be claimed/ Cleared not later than one month.After this date, all other winnings will considered as UNCLAIMED and returned to mtv movie award department.

To begin your claim, you are to forward this message to our accredited claim agent including your

1. Name:
2. Address:
3. Nationality:
4. Age:
5. Marriage Status:
6. Occupation:
7. Phone/Fax:

Make sure you send him email to his email addresses and call him once you send him email:

Contact Person: Dr Arthur Williams

Tel: +234-706-522-9840 IF YOU ARE CALLING FROM USA THIS IS HOW YOU WILL DIAL 011-234-706-522-9840 BUT IF YOU ARE CALLING FROM ANY OTHER COUNTRY THIS IS HOW YOU DIAL +234-706-522-9840 THIS IS YOUR CLAIM AGENT E-MAIL ADDRESSES BELOW,

E MAIL: arthurwilliams@w.cn

E MAIL: arthurwilliams03@post.ro

Your prize award has been insured with your email address and will be transferred to you upon meeting the requirement of the gaming board authority which includes your statutory obligations.

NOTE: You may receive this E-mail more than once as the Mtv Movie Award Promotion send it to its winners in most cases until every winner has claimed his or her prize to ensure that all the winners receive it.

Best Regards,
MR.Timothy Jenkins
(Award coordinator).

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam