419 scam: "ATM PROMO"<award@atm.net> Congratulations lucky Winner!

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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:
- ",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)
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
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: "ATM PROMO" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <charles@barlowconsults.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2011 13:24:52 +0100
Subject: Congratulations lucky Winner!

REF: Congratulations lucky winner!!!

Your email address has been selected as one of the lucky winners in the second batch of the on-going INTERNATIONAL ATM award promo proudly sponsored and organized by AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM), London Branch. Therefore, you have been awarded the sum of One Million Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds sterling only. ( £1,500,000.00).

HOW DID YOU WIN?

Lucky winners do not have to purchase a ticket to participate in this lottery program, all email was selected from the Canada, Australia, United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions. This promotion was set-up to encourage the active usage of the ATM CARD MACHINE®. Hence we do believe that with your winning prize, you will continue to be active and patronize to the ATM CARD MACHINE®.

Your ATM CARD (Containing won amount) will be delivered to you via our associate courier company to your address there in your country. You are hereby required to contact the ATM dispatch office with below details as soon as you receive this notification and avoid any means of delay in delivering your ATM CARD to you:

VERIFICATION FORM. (ASAP)

==============================================
(1) Your Full Names:

(2) Your Tel/Mobile Number:

(3) Your Nationality:

(4) Current Country:

(5) Your contact Address:

(6) Occupation:

==============================================
ATM CARD DISPATCH UNIT (CLAIM DEPARTMENT)
==============================================

Mr. Charles Barlow
E-mail:charles@barlowconsults.com

==============================================

Yours Sincerely,

Mrs. Jane Philips

NOTE: To help us proceed with your claims you must keep away this information from public (Third party) to avoid unwarranted abuse of the program and unauthorized individuals claims.

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Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam