419 scam: "ATM Europe"<donotreply@atmonline.com> Your ATM Winnings!

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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
- "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)
- "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
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: "ATM Europe" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <atmeurope@blumail.org>
Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 12:31:32 +0100
Subject: Your ATM Winnings!

ATM Europe
Europe Head Office,
London, UK

Email: atmeurope@blumail.org

Dear Sir/Madam

We are very pleased to inform you that your email address has been selected as one of the lucky winners in the second batch of the on-going INTERNATIONAL ATM PROMO AWARD proudly sponsored and organized by Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Europe. You have therefore won the sum of One Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars!!!

HOW DID YOU WIN?
Lucky winners did not have to purchase a ticket to participate in this lottery program. All emails were selected from the Canada, Australia, United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions. This promotion was set-up to encourage and promote the active use of the ATM Machine®. We believe that with your winning prize, you will continue to be even more active in patronising and promoting use of the ATM Machine® !!!

Your new ATM Card containing your winnings of One Million, Five hundred Thousand United States Dollars, will be delivered via our associate courier company to your address there in your country. You are therefore required to contact our ATM Europe dispatch office with the following details as soon as you receive this notification to avoid any delay in delivering your ATM Card with your prize money to you:

REQUIRED DETAILS.
==============================================
(1) Full Names:
(2) Nationality:
(3) Occupation:
(4) Contact Address:
(5) Tel/Mobile Number:
(6) Current Country of Residence:

==============================================
ATM CARD DISPATCH CONTACT (CLAIM DEPARTMENT)
==============================================
MR. T. BRUCE

E-mail: atmeurope@blumail.org

==============================================

Yours Sincerely,

Mrs. Jane Sanders
Promotions Manager
ATM Europe Head Office
London,
United Kingdom

==============================================
This email and any attachments to it may are confidential and are intended solely for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of ATM Europe Promo.
If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you must neither take any action based upon its contents, nor copy or show it to anyone.
Please contact the sender if you believe you have received this email in error.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam