419 scam: YAHOO LOTTERY AWARD <paydetpartment@rediffmail.com> YOU HAVE WON USD$3.5 MILLION

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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:
- "hundred thousand 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)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "foreign remittance department" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
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.
- +442032395602
- +27730512776 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
- +27866446542 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: YAHOO LOTTERY AWARD <paydetpartment@rediffmail.com>
Reply-To: dennis-bk@mycin.net
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 02:33:03 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: YOU HAVE WON USD$3.5 MILLION

Â

YAHOO & MICROSOFT INTERNET LOTTERY AWARDS

YAHOO AWARDS CENTER

Â

Dear Email Owner,

Â

CONGRATULATIONS!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Â

This is to inform you that you have won a prize
money of US$3,500,000.00 Dollars (Three Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).
Only for the New email users this 2010 Prize promotion which is organized by YAHOO & MICROSOFT INTERNET SERVICE.

Â

Yahoo! Collects all the email addresses of people that
are active online this 2010, among the millions that subscribed to YAHOO, HOTMAIL,
GMAIL and few from other e-mail Providers/Domains. And Microsoft users. 12
people are selected monthly to benefit from this promotion and you are one of
the Selected Winners this month of August 2010.

Â

PAYMENT OF PRIZE / CLAIMS

Winners shall be paid in accordance with their
Settlement Centers; any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited
and returned to its source as unclaimed Prize/Fund.

Â

Please note that your lucky winning numbers falls
within our AFRICAN booklet representative office in (SOUTH
AFRICA) as indicated in our play coupon, In view of this,
your US$3,500,000.00 Dollars would be release to you by our appointed payment
bank in SOUTH AFRICA.

Â

STATED BELOW ARE YOUR IDENTIFICATION
NUMBERS:

BATCH NUMBER: MFI/07/APA-53659

REFERENCE NUMBER: 2010234523

FILE NUMBER: YAHOO/UK76-441/2010

Â

You are Advised to contact DR. RICHARD WILLIAMS (FOREIGN REMITTANCE DEPARTMENT OF
NEDBANK OF SOUTH AFRICA)
with the below contact informationâ€™s and forward your winning and personal
identification numbers to him:

Â

Â

CONTACT: DR. RICHARD
WILLIAMS

FOREIGN REMITTANCE
DEPARTMENT OF NED BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA

Tel: +27-730512776

Tel: +27-730512777

Fax: +27-866446542

Tel/Fax:+27-866446541

Email: nedbksa@mycin.net

Â

You are advised to send the below following
informationâ€™s to him to enable him facilitate the release of your fund.

Â

1. Your Full name:

2. Your Country:

3. Contact Address:

4. Telephone Number:

5. Fax Number:

6. Marital Status:

7. Occupation:

8. Sex:

9. Age:

Â

NOTE: For further enquirers about this promotion, please contact our London Headquarter Office
director, Mr. Dennis Stevenson through this Tel/Fax: +44-2032395602

Â

Congratulations Once again.

Â

Yours in service,

Â

MRS. JANE ADAMS.

(AWARDS NOTIFICATION OFFICER).

Â

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam