419 scam: "Microsft London" <microsftlondon@yahoo.co.uk> CONGRATULATION YOUR EMAIL HAVE WON 555,000.00

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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.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
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.
- microsftlondon@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Microsft London" <microsftlondon@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:22:57 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATION YOUR EMAIL HAVE WON 555,000.00

MICROSOFT CORPORATION WORLD LOTTERY
UNITED KINGDOM.61-70 Southampton Row,
Bloomsbury London United Kingdom WC1B 4AR.
REFERENCE NO: MSW-L/200-26937
BATCH NO: 2011 SYSTEM YUYY#5
OFFICIAL WINNING NOTIFICATION:

DEAR WINNER:

It is obvious that this notification will come to you as a surprise but please find time to read it carefully as we congratulate you over your success in the following official publication of results of the Email electronic online Sweepstakes organized by Microsoft, in conjunction with the foundation for the promotion of software products,(F.P.S.)held on the 5th April of 2011 ,in United Kingdom.

Wherein your electronic email address emerged as one of the online winning emails in the 1st category and therefore attracted a cash award of $550,000.00(Five hundred And Fifty thousand USA Dollars only). Our winners are arranged into four categories with different winning prizes accordingly in each category.

We write to officially notify you of this award and to advise you to contact the processing office immediately upon receipt of this message for more information concerning the verification, processing and eventual payment of the above prize to you. It is important to note that your award information was released with the following particulars attached to it.

(1) Award numbers: NL 56/7765
(2) BATCH NO: 2010MAR YUYY#5
(3) REFERENCE NO: MSW-L/200-26937
(4) Serial No: 7741137002

PROVIDE OUR CLAIM DEPARTMENT WITH THE INFORMATION BELOW:

1. FIRST NAME:..............................
2. DATE OF BIRTH :...............................
3. GENDER:...........................
4: OCCUPATION:..................................
5: NATIONALITY :..............................
6: COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE:.............................
7. RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS :....................
8.TELEPHONE NUMBER AND FAX:.....................

FOREIGN TRANSFER MANAGER
NAME ( DR GADEN WESTERHOT )
MICROSOFT SECURITY DEPARTMENT
TEL 0044870-71405015
Email : microsftlondon@yahoo.co.uk

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam