419 scam: "Face Book Program"<info@facebook.org> Dear Facebook User / Payment 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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "million us dollars" (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)
- "million dollars" (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)
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.
- ron.washingdon2015@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Face Book Program" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <ron.washingdon2015@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2015 06:55:45 -0400
Subject: Dear Facebook User / Payment Notification .

Dear Facebook user,

Facebook team would like to inform you, and congratulate you for emerging as
our 2015 Facebook Rewards winner.

Facebook Rewards program is done every two years. You have been selected at
random by Facebook internet draw administrator. The draw administrator is an
automated program that selects random Facebook users.

You have been approved to claim a total prize money of $ 1,000,000 (One
Million Dollars) See below for your winning details:

The reward: $ 1,000,000 USD (One Million Dollars)
BATCH NUMBER: FB-1044365641
TICKET NUMBER: FB-77510433/07
SERIAL NUMBER: FB-4441137/244
LUCKY NUMBER: FB-4441137/07

Facebook Rewards program is proudly sponsored by Facebook management. Your
prize will be transferred to you in your land, where your facebook account
was registered.

To claim your prize, please contact Facebook Rewards program agent at the
following e-mail: ron.washingdon2015@hotmail.com
You are required to fill out the form below:

Your name:
Nationality:
Your current country of residence:
Your age:
Your Phone no:
Occupation:
How long have you been using facebook?:

We ask you to fill out the form above and send it to the program agent
with the details
Email: ron.washingdon2015@hotmail.com

Name of Facebook rewards program agent: Ronald Washingdon
Series: Cash Drop department.
Position: Facebook Rewards program agent.

Once the information is received in the email above, the program agent
will contact you with information about how to claim prize money wherever
you are. The total sum of one million US dollars to be paid to you without
any obligation or interrogations.

For your safety, you are strongly advised to keep winning information
confidential until you have received wins money. Do not give out your
winnings information to any third party. This is a precautionary measure to
protect yourself and to avoid unwarranted abuse of Facebook rewards program.

Again, we say congratulations from all members and employees of the Facebook
Team. Be sure to send feedback or inquiries to Ronald Washingdon, at his
email: ron.washingdon2015@hotmail.com

Thank you for using Facebook.

Greeting,

Peter Andreas,
Program Coordinator,
Facebook Rewards Program,
2015. All rights reserved.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam