419 scam: Maria Thomas <auditortimothy@gmail.com> Lucky winner

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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:
- "claims office" (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!
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.
- info1megalottory@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Maria Thomas <auditortimothy@gmail.com>
Reply-To: megamillionlotto277@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2023 21:31:09 -0700
Subject: Lucky winner

INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS PRIZE
AWARD DEPARTMENT Mega Millions LOTTERY,
4740 E University Drive,Phoenix,AZ 85034 United States.,
REF No: Allco/01-MM-L/200-26937
BATCH: 2023 MJL-01
ELECTRONIC MAIL AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION PRESENTATION
CENTER: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Dear Lucky Winner:

Read the full details and forward your data to the claim officer for
the processing of your payment: -

We are pleased to inform you of the announcement today of winners of
the MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT LOTTO WINNINGS PROGRAMS held on 24th JANUARY
2023.your e-mail address is attached to winning serial number
S/N-00168 drew the lucky numbers 887-13-865-37-10-83, and consequently
won in the first lottery category.

You have therefore been approved for lump sums pay out of
USD$3.000,000.00 in cash Credited to file Ref No:
Allco/01-MM-L/200-26937 this is from total prize money of USD
15,000,000.000, shared among the Five (5) international lucky winners
in this category.

All participants E-mail addresses were selected through our Microsoft
computer ballot system drawn from 50,000 Individual Names, 30,000
companies names from each continent, as part of International "E-MAIL"
Promotions Program, Which is conducted annually for our prominent MS
WORD. Your payment has been insured under the America International
Insurance Company (Allco) with Ref No: Allco /01-L/200-26937, Please
note that, you are to contact your claims officer via email.

you have the right to call the Claim Payment Officer Steve Richard on
Telephone number to confirm your winning, as he will provide you with
the necessary details on how to claim Your prize. You are to keep your
ref.number and batch number from the public, until you have been
processed and your prize money delivered to you.

Be informed that all prize money must be claimed not later than two
weeks of this Notification, All funds not Claimed on or before the
fixed date will be with-held accordingly. Do contact the Claim Officer
immediately for further guidelines via
E-mail: info1megalottory@gmail.com by forwarding the verification data to him.

VERIFICATION

1, Full Name:
2, Full Contact Address:
3, Tel:/Fax:
4, Country of Origin;
5, Date of Birth:
6, Sex:
7, Occupation:

Best Regards

Maria Thomas,
For MEGA MILLIONS LOTTO PROMO USA.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam