419 scam: CONGRATULATION <beharnan53@gmail.com> Attention

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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "toyota lottery" (no such lottery exists)
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "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)
- ",500,000" (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)
- "united state of america" (this email uses bad English)
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.
- velcudonald@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: CONGRATULATION <beharnan53@gmail.com>
Reply-To: velcudonald@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2022 07:30:08 -0700
Subject: Attention

--
--
NOTE: If you received this message in your SPAM/BULK folder, that is
because of the restrictions implemented by your Internet Service
Provider, we (TOYOTA) urge you to treat it genuinely and kindly move
it to your inbox.

TOYOTA LOTTERY DEPARTMENT
6565 Headquarters Dr, Plano,
TX 75024,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Dear Winner,

This is to inform you that you have been selected for a prize of a
brand new Toyota Rav4 - Perfect SUV Car and a Check of Seven
Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars ($7,500,000.00),
from the Toyota Automobile International annual computer balloting
programs held on the 1st section 2022 award promo in UNITED STATE OF
AMERICA.

The selection process was carried out through random selection in our
computerized email selection system (ESS) from a database of over
250,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world
which you were selected.

The TOYOTA LOTTERY is approved by the American Gaming Board and also
Licensed by the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).
To begin the processing of your prize you are to contact our fiduciary
claim department for more information as regards to the procedures on
the claim of your prize.

Name: Mr Velcu Donald
Contact Mobile Number: +1(443)543-6920
Contact Email: velcudonald@gmail.com

Contact him by providing him with your secret pin code Number
TY:7809336007/22. You are also advised to provide him with the under
listed information as soon as possible:

1. Name In Full :
2. Residential Address :
3. Nationality :
4. Age :
5. Any means of Identification (Drivers License or Residential Permit
with your above name):
6. Occupation :
7. Direct Phone number :
8. Email address :
We advise you keep your winning confidential as we may not be held
responsible for any loss
Best Regard.
signed:
Mrs Liliana Aiden,
THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS
TOYOTA LOTTERY DEPARTMENT, USA

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam