419 scam: mercedesbenz84@info.com Congratulations !!!

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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:
- "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.
- +447010926943 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
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.
- nz84@hotmail.co.uk (Hotmail, United Kingdom; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: mercedesbenz84@info.com
Reply-To: mercedesbenz84@hotmail.co.uk
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 11:31:45 +0530
Subject: Congratulations !!!

Mercedes-Benz=AE UK Ltd Registered Office: Delaware Drive, Tongwell Milton =
Keynes Buckingham shire, MK15 8BA United Kingdom Congratulations, The Board=
of Directors, members of staff and the International Awareness Promotion D=
epartment of the Mercedes-Benz Automobile Company UK, wishes to congratulat=
e you on your success as one of the 10th STAR PRIZE WINNER in this New Year=
Mercedes-Benz Automobile International Awareness Promotion (IAP) held on O=
ctober 20th , 2013 in Milton Keynes. This makes you the proud owner of a br=
and new 2013 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class (2013 Modern) and cash prize of =A31,0=
00,000.00 GBP (one million Great British pounds).The car comes with a speci=
al Mercedes-Benz Insurance Cover for one whole year, that is, till the next=
promotion in 2014. It also comes with a one year warranty and free repairs=
at any Mercedes-Benz Automobile depot or service station worldwide. The se=
lection process was carried out through random selection in our Computerize=
d Mobile Selection System from a database of over a million email from the =
World Wide Web drawn from all the continents of the world. For you to claim=
your prizes,contacts us through email, stating your receipt of this notifi=
cation. He has been mandated to offer you legal assistance and facilitate t=
he urgent delivery of your prizes directly to you. Please reply to: Dr.Loui=
s Mercedes-Benz Claims Manager Direct line:+447010926943 E mail: mercedesbe=
nz84@hotmail.co.uk You are also advised to provide him with the under liste=
d information: 1. FULL NAME: 2. SEX: 3. AGE: 4. NATIONALITY: 5. RESIDENTIAL=
ADDRESS: 6. CITY: 7. STATE: 8. ZIP CODE: 9. OCCUPATION / POSITION HELD: 10=
. PHONE NUMBER: 11.EMAIL: 12. REFERENCE NUMBER:MBUK25513500DS 13. TAGGED TI=
CKET NUMBER: 5647600545188 14. SERIAL NUMBER: MBUK/556543450906 We request =
that you keep this award personal, till your claims have been processed and=
your funds remitted to you. This is a part of our security measures to avo=
id double claiming or unwarranted participants or imposter's, taking advant=
age of the situation. Congratulations once more, and keep trusting Mercedes=
-Benz Automobile for top quality automobiles. Engr.Mrs Alison Smith DIRECTO=
R OF PROMOTIONS, INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS PROMOTIONS, MERCEDES-BENZ AUTOMOBI=
LE. MILTON KAYNES, UNITED KINGDOM. THE MERCEDES-BENZ INTERNATIONAL AWARENES=
S PROMOTION COPYRIGHT =A92013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam