419 scam: THE DESK OF MANAGING DIRECTOR RE:AWARD FINAL NOTICE

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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:
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "foreign service manager" (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)
- "keep it confidential" (scammers urge victims to keep the transaction secret because they don't want anyone to point out to them that it is a 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.
- +34602682337 (Spain, prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- adm.unionsecfinc@aol.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: THE DESK OF MANAGING DIRECTOR
Reply-To: <adm.unionsecfinc@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 2015 13:17:36 -0500
Subject: RE:AWARD FINAL NOTICE

International Lotto Promotion Commission AVDA. ROSARIO DIAZ 23, PLANTA 4, P=
UERTA B 28288 MADRID - SPAIN Tel: 011-34 683 424 304 (AFFILIATED WITH ONCE =
ESPA=D1A) FROM : THE DESK OF MANAGING DIRECTOR. CLAIM FILE NUMBER: EG/0084/=
5170024 BATCH NUMBER: 100000488 ATTENTION: STAKE WINNER. RE: AWARD NOTIFICA=
TION FINAL NOTICE we are pleased to inform you today of the release of SPAN=
ISH SWEEPSTAKE LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM held on the second quarter 201=
5. Your email attached to ticket number 002-77-888428-045-1334 drew the luc=
k numbers 09-13-17-29-33-41 that consequently won the lottery in the 3rd ca=
tegory. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay of $1,816,900.0=
0 (ONE MILLION, EIGHT HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN THOUSAND, NINE HUNDRED UNITED STA=
TES DOLLARS ONLY) in cash credited to file ref number EG/0084/5170024.This =
is from a total cash prize of $25,750,966.00 (Twenty five million, Seven hu=
ndred and fifty thousand, nine hundred and sixty six united states dollars =
only) shared among international winners in this second quarter of the prom=
otion. Your fund is now deposited with a finance company insured in your fo=
vour. Please note that your claim and batch number are the key to your fund=
, keep it confidential until your claim has been processed and your fund re=
mitted to your account as this is part of our protocol to avoid double clai=
ming or unwarranted taking of advantage of this program by participants. Al=
l participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 25=
,000.000 email address from Europe America Africa and Asia as part of our i=
nternational promotion program that we conduct quarterly every year. We hop=
e with a part of your prize, you will take part in our next high stake USD =
1.3 billion international lottery program. To begin this claim, contact you=
r claim agent ATTN: ANTONIO LUCAS, Foreign Service Manager UNION SECURITY& =
FINANCE S A on Tel:+34 602 682 337 Email: adm.unionsecfinc@aol.com for proc=
essing and remittance of your money to a designated account of your choice.=
Remember all prize money must be claimed not later than 21 working days fr=
om the date of receipt of your reply, after this date all funds will be ret=
urned to the Ministerio De Economia Y Hacienda as unclaimed. In order to av=
oid unnecessary delay and complications, please remember to quote your Refe=
rence and Batch numbers in every of your correspondence with us or your age=
nt. Congratulation once again and thank you for being part of our promotion=
program Yours Sincerely, Ms Anna Aguirre

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam