419 scam: "MR. ALLEN ZHOU"<twangyx@jnu.edu.cn> ASIA-PACIFIC ORGANIZATIONS PRIZE AWARD 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:
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- ",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)
- "info@financecorporation.tk" (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!

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: <info@financecorporation.tk>
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:47:48 +0800
Subject: ASIA-PACIFIC ORGANIZATIONS PRIZE AWARD NOTIFICATION

ASIA-PACIFIC ORGANIZATIONS
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION
PRIZE AWARD NOTIFICATION

We are pleased to inform you of the announcement made on Feb 20, 2011 of winners of the ASIA LOTTERY PROMOTIONS. As part of our promotional draws,participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 2,500,000 email addresses of individuals and companies from all parts of the world as part of our electronic business Promotions Program. Note that you/your email address qualified for the draw as a result of your visiting various websites we are running the e-business promotions for.

Your Winning Ticket Number. 490-143-3014
Your Serial Number. 214-56
Your lucky draw Numbers are. 2, 5, 9, 54, 49, 14 Bonus Number 59
Your INSURANCE Number: FLD718/470D/GMSA

You have therefore been approved for the payment of the sum of US$800,000,00 in cash, which is the winning amount for the Second category winners. This is from the total prize money of US$8,550,000.00 shared among the international winners in the Second category.CONGRATULATIONS!

To begin your claim, please contact your claims agent immediately.

LAMBERT LIU
FOREIGN SERVICES MANAGER,
BEIJING CONSUMER FINANCE COMPANY
TAOJIN LU,GUANGZHOU,CHINA.
info@financecorporation.tk

Congratulations! once again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotions program.

Sincerely,

ALLEN ZHOU
VICE PRESIDENT INT.PROMOTIONS

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam