419 scam: "James Harny." <claims-office@android.com> Very important for gpa@tdg.com, a must read

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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:
- "hundred thousand great british pounds" (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)
- ",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.
- +447024022791 (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.
- sarah.budsi@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "James Harny." <claims-office@android.com>
Reply-To: "James Harny." <androidcashsplasho14@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 13:52:18 +0100
Subject: Very important for gpa@tdg.com, a must read

New Page 2

Dear gpa@tdg.com,

Either you or someone entered your information on our web Ad for the Google Android Cash Splash Promo and we are using this medium to officially notify you that the result of the promo was recently released as shown below:

2014 Result
S/N Winners List Amount Won Ticket Number Status

1 sarah.budsi@aol.com 1,000,000.00 GBP Confidential Unclaimed

2 gpa@tdg.com 500,000.00 GBP AD540201H Unclaimed

3 ahmed_buswa@chevron.com 200,000.00 GBP Confidential Unclaimed

We are happy to inform you that you are our second prize winner and you won 500,000.00 GBP (Five hundred thousand Great British Pounds) at this promo. Your ticket number is AD540201H. Please take note of your ticket number as it will be needed for verification.

To receive your money, winners are expected to reply this email with the following information for verification: 1. Your Full Names 2. Residential address 3. Mobile number 4. Email address 5. Ticket number

Your payment will be issued to you when we receive your reply with your information as outlined above.

Please bear it in mind that you won big in this promo because you are one of our valuable customers. However, if you wish to decline the receipt of your prize money, you are to notify us on time so that the opportunity will be given to another Android user.

WARNING: Because of numerous fraudulent schemes going around the internet, confidentiality should be accorded at all times. You are expected to keep the news of your winning and your ticket number to yourself until you have received your prize money. This is to avoid false claims and abuse of the program. Android Inc will never ask you to pay any fee before you receive your prize money.

You can call +44-7024022791 if you wish to speak to someone from our office.

Please inform us as soon as you receive your money

Congratulations!!!

James Harny
Chief Financial Officer
Android Inc - Google - United Kingdom

Tel: +44-7024022791

Copyright © 2014 Google Inc. All rights reserved

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam