419 scam: "© PCH LOTTO"<notification@pchlotto.com> NOtification

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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:
- "million pounds" (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)
- "pch.usa@9.cn" (this email address has been used in a known 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.
- +447024063639 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "© PCH LOTTO" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <pch.usa@9.cn>
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:01:46 +0100
Subject: NOtification

PUBLISHERS CLEARING HOUSE. © PCH LOTTO

File #: pch/ja3515/UK

Congratulations, we are pleased to inform you of the result of the PCHLotto Award. Your email address was randomly selected as a winner in PCHLotto Online program, the draw was held using a computerized balloting system of selection. PCHLotto is aimed and focused at global development and improvement of living standard across the world.

Free £77 Million Pounds won including *four* Ten Million Pounds Winners and *fourteen* Millionaires plus thousands of other cash prizes. Winners are from all over the world, India, France, Singapore, USA, United Kingdom, Spain, South America, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and many more.

We wish to express our sincere apologies for the late notification, this free award online program is being conducted bi-quarterly. PCHLotto Award draws was conducted at PCHLotto Issuing Centre, you were selected from an exclusive list of 1,000,000,000 e-mail addresses of internet users from the following categories; consumers, professionals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer ballot search from the internet 'NO TICKETS OR DRAFTS WERE SOLD'.

Your email address attached to Security File #: pch/ja3515/UK, drew winning numbers: 1,12,18,20,21,26,30,38 for the online game on 7/13/2010, which has qualified you to claim the sum of £813,379 GBP($1.25 million jackpot), therefore you are eligible to file claim for your prize as one of our lucky winners for the payout of your total sum after a thorough verification that will be conducted by our various credible financial institutions.

This online program is precisely aimed at enabling all internet users across the world benefit from the PCHLotto, your email address falls within the First Category Winner as such your file has been designated to our European Center, where the complete verification and payout will be conducted only if there are no exceptions during the claims process. To file your claim for immediate release please contact our Foreign Services Director Mr. Kovin Baslov with the following information:

1. Name in full---------------------------
2. Mobile Phone/Fax-----------------------
3. Country--------------------------------
4. Age------------------------------------
5. File #---------------------------------
6. Winning numbers------------------------

The above information should be sent tO:

Contact Person: Mr. Kovin Baslov
Tel: +447024063639, +447024079809
Email: pch.usa@9.cn
Location: England

NOTE: Winning prize not claimed within 10 days will be canceled; anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.

Please take note of the following vital information and keep them from public view until your prize is claimed;

WINNING NUMBERS: 1,12,18,20,21,26,30,38
FILE NUMBER(#): pch/ja3515/UK
DRAW DATE: 7/13/2010
PRIZE: $1.25 million jackpot (equiv. £813,379 GBP)

Sincerely Yours,

Dave Sayer,
Executive Director,
PCH PRIZE PATROL.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam