419 scam: Google <mcsanders@mail.usf.edu> =?UTF-8?B?WW91ciBlbWFpbCBpZCBoYXMgd29uIHlvdSAoNTAwLDAwMC4wMCDCo0dCUCnigI8=?=

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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:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "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)
- "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)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
- "and cash it" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
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 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.
- winersclaimsagnte@googlemail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: gogglepromoawarde@googlemail.com
Date: Mon, 25 May 2015 01:16:04 +0100
Subject: =?UTF-8?B?WW91ciBlbWFpbCBpZCBoYXMgd29uIHlvdSAoNTAwLDAwMC4wMCDCo0dCUCnigI8=?=

*Google Promotion Award DepartmentÂ®*
*44 Oakleugh Road*
*South London N11 INP*
*United Kingdom.*

*2015 GOOGLE ANNIVERSARY.*

*Dear E-mail User,*
*Your e-mail ID has emerged as a winner of Â£500,000.00 GBP (Five hundred
thousand Great Britain *
*Pounds) in our on-going Google Promotion Award. We wish to congratulate
you once again on this*
*note, for being part of our winners selected this year. This promotion was
set-up to encourage the*
*active users of the Google search engine and the Google ancillary
services. Hence we do believe*
*with your winning prize, you will continue to be active and patronage to
the Google search engine. *
*Google is now the biggest search engine worldwide and in an effort to make
sure that it remains the*
*most widely used search engine.*

*The Google Promotion Award Team collects the E-mail ID of all active users
online, among the people*
*that subscribed to GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE, GOOGLEMAIL, YAHOOMAIL, MSN,
HOTMAIL, AOL, *
*REDIFFMAIL, ALTAVISTA, BIGPOND, FACEBOOK and all the social networks
online, among the billions *
*users that subscribe to internet in which your email ID did emerge as one
of the lucky winners that won *
*Â£500,000.00 {Five Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds Sterling} through
electronic balloting System*
*without the winner applying, we are congratulating you for having been one
of the lucky people that won*
*for this Month of May.*

*A winning cheque of Â£500,000.00 {Five Hundred Thousand Great British
Pounds Sterling} will be issued*
*on your name by our fiduciary agent, and also a certificate of prize
claims will be sent alongside your*
*winning cheque.*

*Note that all winners cheque are certified international bank draft,and
when delivered and received by*
*you, you can deposit and cash it in any bank of your choice without any
delay.*

*To claim your won prize, please contact the Google Award claims Fiduciary
Agent (Mr Grahams Benfield)*
*neatly filling the verification details below.*

*GOOGLE AWARD CLAIMS FIDUCIARY AGENT*
*Mr Grahams Benfield*
*Contact Email: **(winersclaimsagnte@googlemail.com
<winersclaimsagnte@googlemail.com>)*
*or **(winersclaimsagnte@outlook.com <winersclaimsagnte@outlook.com>)*

*Kindly forward your verification details as stated below to the Google
Fiduciary Agent;*
*1. Full Name:....................................*
*2. House Address:.........................*
*3. Occupation:................................*
*4. Sex:...............................................*
*5. Age:...............................................*
*6. Marital Status:................................*
*7. Direct Phone No:.............................*
*8. Country:.......................................*
*9. Ticket Number: 00869575733664*
*10. Serial Number: BTD/8070447706/06*
*11.Lucky Number: 12-12-23-35-40-41(12)*

*Contact Person: Mr Grahams Benfield*
*Contact Email: **(winersclaimsagnte@googlemail.com
<winersclaimsagnte@googlemail.com>)*
*or **(winersclaimsagnte@outlook.com <winersclaimsagnte@outlook.com>)*

*The Google Promotion Award Team has discovered a huge number of double
claims due to **winners *
*informing **close friends relatives and third parties about their winning
and also sharing **their pin **numbers.*
* As a result of** this, **these friends try to claim the lottery on-behalf
of the real **winners. **The **Google *
*Promotion Award Team has reached **a decision that any double claim
discovered by the **Lottery Board*
*will result to the canceling of that particular **winning, making a loss
for both the double **claimer and the*
*real winner, as it is taken that the real winner was the **informer to the
double claimer **about the lottery. *
*So you are hereby strongly advised once more to keep your winnings *
*strictly **confidential until you claim*
*your prize.*

*Congratulations from the Staffs & Members of the Google interactive
Lotteries Board Commission.*

*Mrs. Charlene Richards.*
*Promotion Award Manager.*
*C2015 Google Corporation.*

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam