419 scam: "Microsoft Lottery" <info@microsoft.com> Congratulations: Your E-mail Have Won

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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "international lottery programme" (no such lottery exists)
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "season_splash@live.co.uk" (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!

Fraud email example:

From: "Microsoft Lottery" <info@microsoft.com>
Reply-To: season_splash1@live.co.uk
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2011 16:21:47 +0530 (IST)
Subject: Congratulations: Your E-mail Have Won

FROM THE DESK OF
THE E-MAIL PROMOTIONS MANAGER INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD
DEPARTMENT, MICROSOFT WORD CORPORATION LOTTERY, USA

Ref: 475061725
Batch: 7056490902/188
Winning No: GB8701/LPRC

WINNING NOTIFICATION,

Congratulations,

We are delighted to inform you of your prize release on December 6th 2011,
from the Microsoft International Lottery Programme; which is fully based
on an electronic selection of winners using their e-mail addresses from
different sites.Your email address was attached to ticket number: 17212,
Serial Number 7741137002.

You hereby have been approved a lump sum pay NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY
THOUSAND BRISTISH POUNDS STERLING in cash credit file Ref: ILP/HW 47509/02
from the total cash prize shared amongst eight lucky winners in this
category.

All participants were selected through a computer balloting system drawn
from nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia, United
States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania as part of our
international promotions program which is conducted annually. This Lottery
was promoted and sponsored by Microsoft Co-operation world wide as part of
their social responsibility for the eradication of poverty and to promote
the use of the internet globally.

Further more, your detail (e-mail address) falls within our England
Representative Office in London as indicated in your play coupon and your
prize of NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND BRISTISH POUNDS STERLING will be
released to you from our regional branch office in London.Your Winning
Fund (International Certified Cheque) has been insured with the Paying
Bank with REF NO: MSW-L/200-26937 and will be ready to be handed over or
delivered to you when you are through with the official process involved.

It will be delivered to you by our Claims Officer in charge of the London
Zone (Mrs. Jennifer Johnson). Your E-mail address should be used in all
correspondence with your Claimed Officer.

HOW TO FILE FOR YOUR CLAIMED:

Simply contact our Claims Office.

Contact Person: Mrs. Jennifer Johnson.

E-mail: season_splash@live.co.uk

Please ensure that you quote your Reference, Batch and Winning Numbers
which can be found on the top left corner of this notification, as well as
your full name, address and telephone number to help locate your file
easily. For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this
information%

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam