419 scam: "Australia Lottery Board" <accounts@halifaxgroups.com> Important Notification!!

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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:

The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "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!

Fraud email example:

From: "Australia Lottery Board" <accounts@halifaxgroups.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2012 00:04:39 +0100
Subject: Important Notification!!

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT: NOTE THAT THE ENTIRE CONTENT OF THIS EMAIL IS FOR THE KIND ATTENTION OF THE HOLDER OF THIS ADDRESS ALONE. CLOSE IMMEDIATELY IF YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO ACCESS THIS EMAIL. FAILURE TO ABIDE IS AN OFFENSE.
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Dear Email Account Holder,

The organizers of Australia 2012 Lottery lottery wishes to inform you that you have been nominated for a prize of $500,000.00 on our web lottery that took place in Australia

This program is aimed at encouraging global co-operation and support humanity.

Ref Number: OL8322498TD2012LOT12

Batch Number: REF03746594746PIN

Click the link below to submit your wining information and confirm your identity.

Claim Prize

Follow the step by step instruction on our website to submit your claim.

Make sure to send the confirmatory sms after you have completed the online claim form.
We will be in touch shortly with payment information after we receive and validate your claim.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Barr Moore Morgan
Australia Lottery Board

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam