419 scam: "Ellis Stella .Mrs"<ellisstell@yahoo.com.co> OFFICIAL WINNING NOTIFICATION.

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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "million united states dollars" (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.
- authurgracia@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Ellis Stella .Mrs" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <authurgracia@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:31:29 -0700
Subject: OFFICIAL WINNING NOTIFICATION.

U.K Olympic Lottery. Microsoft Corporations. Reference No: ESP-L/L-2810. Batch No: 2012/101/MIC FINAL WINNING NOTIFICATION. Dear Winner, We are pleased to inform you of the released results of 2012 UK Olympic Lottery promotions organized by Microsoft Corporations, in conjunction with the foundation for the promotion of software products, (F.P.S.) held 2008,in United Kingdom. your email address emerged as one of the lucky seven online Winning e-mails in the 2nd category and therefore attracted a cash award of $1,000.000 USD (ONE MILLION United States Dollars) and a Dell Lap-top. To begin your claims,Please file for the prompt release of your winnings by contacting our Foreign Transfer Monitor with your PERSONAL DETAILS :Fill the form attached:Compulsory. NAME: ADDRESS: PHONE NO: OCCUPATION: AGE: SEX: COUNTRY: Contact thus: FINANCIAL DIRECTOR MEGAFINANCE & SECURITIES UK LTD . AUTHUR GRACIA Email: authurgracia@yahoo.com Lottery Awards is sponsored by the former C.E.O. Bill Gates, and a consortium of software promotions companies. 1.The Intel Group,Toshiba, 2.Dell Computers and other International Companies organized to encourage the use of Internet and promote computer literacy worldwide. Congratulations once again!! Sincerely Ellis Stella.Mrs Zonal cordinator. Notice :This email is meant for only the intended recipient of these transmission, and a communication privileged by law, subject to restrictions or otherwise contains proprietary information. If you receive this email by mistake, please notify us immediately .do not review, disclose, copy or distribute it. Thank you in advance for your cooperation , Microsoft Corporations.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam