419 scam: South Africa Shell National Promo <award@yahoo.com> (no subject)

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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:
- ",000,000" (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)
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.
- +27837739948 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- sa-snp@dr.com (Dr; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: South Africa Shell National Promo <award@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: sa-snp@dr.com
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 04:49:28 +1000
Subject:

South Africa Shell National Promo,
Johannesburg,South Africa.
****************************
Congratulations as we announce to you that your email has been
shortlisted As winner of R9,000,000.00(Nine Million South African
Rand) Equivalent to $1,100,648.15(USD) in the South Africa SHELL
PETROLEUM EMAIL INTERNATIONAL AWARD 2012 promotions
program held this Year
2012.NOTE:To file for your claim, please contact our South Africa
Regional Shell cooperate Office(Claim Department via information
below with the
requested details:
Shell Petroleum Claims Department
Mrs,Katy John (Claim Promo Officer)
Email: sa-snp@dr.com
**************************************************
Find below your promotion date, Reference
and Batch numbers.Remember to quote
these numbers in your correspondence to
our claims department.
**************************************************
(1) Ref No.SH/037/11/06/SA
(2) Batch No: JBSH/10/JB/SA
**************************************************
VERIFICATION AND FUNDS RELEASE FORM.
1. Full Name:
2. Address:
3. Occupation:
4. Nationality:
5. Tel No:
6. Date Of Birth:
7. Country Of Residence:
8. Alternative Email :

Sorry if you received this letter in your Spam,Due to recent
connection error here in south africa.sorry for the inconvenience.
PLEASE NOTE:DO NOT CLICK ON THE
REPLY BOTTOM,YOUR RESPONSE MUST BE SENT TO THIS EMAIL
ADDRESS:(sa-snp@dr.com
Once again on behalf of South Africa Government we say
CONGRATULATIONS!

South Africa Shell Promotion Award Team,
Johannesburg,South Africa.

Phone:+27837739948 (24hr)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam