419 scam: "FACEBOOK.COM" <facebook19book@aol.com> RE: CONGRATULATIONS !

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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 agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "million us 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)
- ",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)
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.
- halifaxonline@europe.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "FACEBOOK.COM" <facebook19book@aol.com>
Reply-To: facebookcyber@cybergal.com
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2014 11:43:08 +0800
Subject: RE: CONGRATULATIONS !

Ref: 990078567
Batch: 9056490602/333
Winning no: FB8701/LPRC
ticket number: 987061725 07056490902
serial number: 7541137207

CONGRATULATIONS.

This is to inform you once again that You have won the sum of $1,000,000:00 OUR 2014 SWEEPSTAKES (Facebook Inc). This is a New year bonus to promote our users worldwide through this online lottery, Which is fully based on an electronic selection.

We hereby approve you a lump sum of $1,000,000:00 (One Million US Dollars) in Cash Credit File- ILP/HW 47509/02 from the total cash prize for eight lucky winners in this category.

All participant were selected through a computer balloting system drawn in Nine hundred thousand E-mail address on Facebook website from the listed continents/countries: Canada, Australia,United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East and Oceania as part of our international promotions program which is conducted annually..

This Lotto was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the Aspect that impacts peoples lifestyle worldwide.

Further more your details(e-mail address) falls within our European representative office in Amsterdam, Holland, as indicated in your play coupon and your prize of US $ 1,000,000 will be released to you from this regional Halifax Bank of London.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE:

Simply contact our paying Bank Contact Name - Mr. Anthony Hedges, by replying to this e-mail: halifaxonline@europe.com

Please quote your reference,batch and winning number as well as your full name, address and telephone number to help locate your file easily.

For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and your prize released to you. Keep it secret. Keep it safe.
This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this program by non-participant or unofficial personnel.

Note, all winnings MUST be claimed before the end of this program; otherwise all funds will be returned as Unclaimed and eventually donated to charity organizations.
YOU CAN REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.TO CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT (Desmond Arthur)
ANY BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY ON THE PART OF THE WINNERS WILL RESULT TO DISQUALIFICATION.

Once again, Congratulations on your winnings.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Zuckerberg
Online coordinator for Facebook
Online lottery
www.facebook.com

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Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam