419 scam: < > 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:
- ",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)
- "dr.kevinyoung_palmer@outlook.com" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
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.
- +447045781251 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: < >
Reply-To: <hiltonjoboffer@outlook.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2015 00:12:21 +0530
Subject: Congratulations!!!

GUINNESS HOUSE HOUGHTON STREET ,LONDON, WC2A 2AE, UNITED KINGDOM. GUINNESS=
STOUT GREATING INTERNET AWARENESS PROMOTIONS 2015. Attention: Winner, We a=
re pleased to inform you of the result of the just concluded 2015 End of Ye=
ar draws held on the 30th FEB 2015 GUINNESS EXTRA STOUT Worldwide Internet =
Awareness Promotion, your email was among the 30 lucky winners who won GBP =
(One Million Great British Pounds) =A31,000,000.00 each on the GUINNESS COM=
PANY. However, the results were released today 19th of September, 2015 and =
your email was attached to ticket number (GUI45856CS89) and ballot number (=
BN: 6220914657/HBZ-T). The online draws was conducted by a random selection=
of email addresses from an exclusive list of 250,031 E-mail addresses of i=
ndividuals and corporate bodies, picked by an advanced automated random com=
puter search from the internet. However, no tickets were sold but all email=
addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and=
privacy. In other to claim your GBP =A31,000,000.00 winning prize, which h=
ave been deposited in a designated Finance Security Company here in United =
Kingdom.However, you will have to fill the form below and send it to the Pr=
omotion manager of Guinness Worldwide Internet Awareness Lottery Company fo=
r verification and then you will be directed on how you can claim your won =
prize as it has already been deposited in your favour. NAMES: AGE: SEX: MAR=
ITAL STATUS:HOME ADDRESS: COUNTRY: MOBILE PHONE: OCCUPATION: Completely fil=
l the form above and send it immediately to our promotion manager through e=
mail for prompt collection of your fund using the contact details below: CO=
NTACT:Name: Dr. Kevin Young Palmer. (PROMOTION MANAGER) TEL:+447045781251 F=
AX:+448704781885 EMAIL: dr.kevinyoung_palmer@outlook.com Yours faithfully, =
Mrs. Alma Hyman. (Secretary)=20

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam