419 scam: "Mr. Winter Robinson"<internationallotery@yahoo.com> Congratulations!! Congratulations!! 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:
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- ",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!

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Winter Robinson" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <selinagreenwoodsmailbox@rediffmail.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2018 16:32:10 -0700
Subject: Congratulations!! Congratulations!! Congratulations!!

Subject: Congratulations!
Date: July, 2018 4:19 PM
DATE: 13th June,2018
Dear Winner,

Congratulations!! Congratulations!! Congratulations!!

You were a winner of our NATIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAM that was held on the 13th July 2018. Due to mix up of email address, the results were finally released on 17th May 2018. Winners were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from ”300,000,000” E-mail addresses, from eight different Zones; North America, Latin America, Caribbean, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia, South Asia and Australia/South Pacific.

Your E-mail address generated British Telecom jackpot number 0220-T11444999-05P50 with serial number BT/400550/SH, drew the lucky numbers 4-18-24-30-31-35-78-10, which consequently won the lottery in the 1st category.

You have therefore been approved for a lump sum payout of ?1.5M (One Million Five Hundred Thousand pounds) to file reference number: BTGL/1500000/05p50/15305,from a total cash price of ?22.500,000.00 (Twenty Two Million Five Hundred Thousand pounds) shared among fifteen (15) international winners in this grand category. Our agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your winning prize to you as soon as you make contact.

CLAIM AGENT.
Mr. Winter Robinson

Congratulations once again from all members of our staff and thanks for being part of our promotions program.

Mike Peterson
Promotion Department
Email: mike@btservices.org
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by e-mail at the address shown. This e-mail transmission may contain confidential information. This information is intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity to whom it is intended even if addressed incorrectly. Please delete it from your files if you are not the intended recipient. Thank you for your compliance.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam