419 scam: "Mr. todd megson" <info@fb.org> FROM: THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS,<br> FACEBOOK PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEP

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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:
- "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "hundred thousand united states 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)
- "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!
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.
- dr.bensonmarkusfiduciary0122@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. todd megson" <info@fb.org>
Reply-To: dr.bensonmarkusfiduciary0122@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2020 17:34:58 -0700
Subject: FROM: THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS,
FACEBOOK PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT

FROM: THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS,
FACEBOOK PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT.

WINNING NUMBER: FBMRP/017/30382120
REFERENCE NUMBER: EALP/66-CAW662020

Dear Winner,

We are pleased to inform to you that your registered email address is selected among the 50 lucky winners in the FACEBOOK MEGA REWARD PROMO that held on the 11th of May, 2020. This reward program is held annually in promoting Facebook Network as the world's leading social networks. It's based entirely on random selection of winners through our international emails processing system of Internet Voting unit. All 50 winning addresses were randomly selected from a batch of 10,000,000.00 international registered email address users. Your registered email address has emerged alongside 50 others email address users as lucky winners in the Facebook Promo draw.

Consequently, you have therefore been approved for a total payout of ($500,000.00USD) FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS ONLY.
Please contact Facebook Fiduciary agent immediately to commence the process to facilitate the release of your winning claims as soon as you contact him via name and email address below.

Dr. Benson Markus, Promo department director.
Email: (dr.bensonmarkusfiduciary0122@gmail.com)

For a speedy processing and immediate release of your winning claims, please include the following information below in your mail to the fiduciary agent and make sure you use your winning number as the subject to avoid delay of your claim:

BENEFICIARY FULL NAME:...............................
RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS:.................................
EMAIL ADDRESS:.......................................
OCCUPATION:..........................................
TEL NUMBER:..........................................
COUNTRY:.............................................
SEX&AGE:.............................................

Mind you it is neither a joke nor hoax but real and legit that your registered email address emerged alongside 50 others registered email address users as a lucky winner in the Facebook Promo draw.

Once again on behalf of all our staff, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Sincerely,

TODD MEGSON
FACEBOOK PROMO COORDINATOR,
FACEBOOK © 2020.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam