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419 Scam – "GREENER PASTURES LOTTERY" – all roads lead to Lagos
"GREENER PASTURES LOTTERY" is a fake lottery run by Nigerian scammers, with branches in the United Kingdom and Spain. They operate a fake bank for taking deposits from their victims.
Here's the fake lottery's fake postal address:
GREENER PASTURES LOTTERY,
42 ELLAND ROAD,
LONDON. SE4 2JB
ENGLAND.
Despite the London postal address provided in the "winning notifications" of these scammers, the gang appears to hail from Lagos, Nigeria. The scammers use the following internet domains:
- greenerpasturelottery.com (abuse reporting address: abuse@msn.com)
- psavs.net
The initial contact is made from a free webmail account, for example:
- rothbethy@yahoo.co.uk ("Roth Betty")
The initial "winning notification" directs you to contact another address (with UK phone number) for registering the claim:
CONTACT: STEVEN BROWN,
CUSTOMER SUPPORT UNIT - CSU,
1ST MOVES INTERNATIONAL (SHIPIT), LONDON.
FAX: 44 – 20 79003038
TEL: 44 – 77 46479156
EMAIL:steven_shipit@winning.com
When contacted, this next scammer, here operating using a free webmail account at winning.com, provides a claims form to the victim, to fill in personal details (don't do that!). The form is a Word document created by "eddy" from "spotel telecomms", with a title of "PREMIUN TRUST AGENCY".
After the filled in form is sent in they will write back to the victim, saying the prize is ready to be paid, but first some charges must be paid (see email). They give the victim a choice of either sending them 978 euro or $5000. Either money will be lost of course, if the victim complies.
If the smaller amount (978 EUR) is sent via Western Union, it becomes untraceable. The scammers pick it up at any Western Union agent in London (there was a total of 423 of them on 2004-12-02, as we write this) and walk away.
The larger amount (US$5000) is supposed to be a minimum deposit for opening an account at an online bank, "Prime Securities And Vault Services" (http://www.psavs.net), which is fake of course.
After sending money, the victim will never gain access to his virtual bank account. Any complaints will be ignored. Here is the contact information for the fake bank:
Prime Securities and Vault Services
Email:
info@psavs.net
customer_service@psavs.net
London Office:
Prime Securities and Vault Services
Pheckham road,
London,
United Kingdom
SE58UF
Telephone:
+44 783 317 1041
Fax:
+44 870 139 8800
Other Telephone Numbers available on request.
Spain Office:
Prime Securities and Vault Services
Grandeur avenue,
Madrid,
Spain.
Telephone:
+34 616 605 747
The domain of the website was registered on 2004-10-26 using an address in Lagos, Nigeria.
Example spam for GREENER PASTURES LOTTERY
From: Roth Betty [mailto:rothbethy@yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: 22 November 2004 11:55
To: recipientemail
Subject: CONFIRMATION/DIRECTIVE
GREENER PASTURES LOTTERY,
42 ELLAND ROAD,
LONDON. SE4 2JB
ENGLAND.
info@greenerpasturelottery.com
FROM: THE DESK OF THE PROMOTIONS COORDINATOR,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,
REF: SUL/653/029/04 BATCH: AT-040-SB06-03
Dear Sir/Madam,
CONFIRMATION/DIRECTIVE
Congratulations! I am very pleased to confirm your lotto winning, it is my duty to inform and direct you on the conditions and procedures guiding your lotto winning.
Introduction
Once again be informed that AT&T Foundation (The world’s network company) is a foundation that focuses on health, education, culture, rural development, institution-building and the promotion of economic development. It is dedicated to improving living conditions and opportunities for the poor, without regard to their faith, origin or gender. In the spirit of the Olympics as a veritable vehicle to promote world peace and to promote awareness of their ideas and services, the foundation together with the Software AG, a computer software manufacturing company came together to set up the GREENER PASTURE LOTTERY to give out prizes based on the computer ballot system. The motive is to get a wide ranging awareness campaign to a wider spectrum of people in order to promote their laudable ideas and services on the internet being the highest level for advertisement and awareness propagation as a means of problem solving.
We are pleased to inform you of the announcement of the last draws of winners of this promotional lottery draw for this year. That your email address attached to ticket number 27522465896-532, with serial number 652-662 drew the lucky 7-14-18-23-31-45, and consequently won the lottery in the 3rd category. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of 2,700,000.00 Euros (Two Million Seven Hundred Euros only) credited toe Ref number: SUL/653/029/04, Batch number: AT-040-SB06-03 This is from total prize money of 30,400,000.00 Euros shared among the seventeen international winners in this category. This promotional program takes place every year. All participants in this Lottery Program have been selected randomly through a computer Ballot System drawn from over 20,000 companies and 30,000,000 individual email addresses from all search engines and web sites.
ELIGIBILITY:
This promotion is offered only electronically via the Internet and is open to all persons from age 18 years and above with a valid email address. This promotion is void in any country where such promotion as this is prohibited. Principals and employees of AT&T foundation, Software AG and the Greener Pasture Lottery and its respective parents, subsidiaries and their immediate family members are not eligible.
CLAIMS PROCEDURES:
It is our standard practice to allocate accredited agents for the processing of claims application. It is even more imperative for overseas winners. To begin your claims therefore, you are advised as a matter of urgency, to contact the under listed licensed and accredited claims agent for the processing of your prize awards winning. Please contact the clearing house (through your claims agent) the body assigned with the verification of all emergent winner. Therefore all protocols laid down by them must be followed to facilitate your claims;
CONTACT: STEVEN BROWN,
CUSTOMER SUPPORT UNIT - CSU,
1ST MOVES INTERNATIONAL (SHIPIT), LONDON.
FAX: 44 – 20 79003038
TEL: 44 – 77 46479156
EMAIL:steven_shipit@winning.com
Also find all other relevant winning lottery Information below:
Ref No: SUL/653/029/04
Batch No: AT-040-SB06-03
Zonal Draw No: GSLA2-003
Grand Draw No: 12099
All communication must be copied (cc) to info_gplotto@telkom.net
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
(a) Note that there exist a periodic condition of one month to your claims processing, failing which would lead to disqualification and winnings forfeiture.
(b) Being one of the lucky winners, you constitute entrant's full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of our terms and conditions of claims to avoid any discrepancy in the cause of payment of your prize awards winning.
(c)Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, you are committed to keep this award strictly from public notice until your claim has been processed and your money remitted to your account. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by participants of this program.
(d) To avoid double claims, you are advised to keep your winning details very confidential, as any discrepancies resulting from a breach of this and above confidentiality on the part of the winners will be Bourne solely by such winner as our staffs are bound by the oath of secrecy taken on employment.
(e) By this lottery prize awards winning, you acknowledge your acceptance to be added to our lottery master player database.
(f) By this prize winning, you agree to receive periodic mailings which will include, but are not limited to; Newsletters, Invitations to Play, Announcements, Adverts and Offers we feel would be of interest to our master players, from all the sponsoring entities.
(g) By this winning, you understand that you reserve the discretion to be removed from any such mailing list which automatically disqualifies you from this and subsequent lottery entries. Removal instructions are on every mail.
(h) We hereby do solemnly pledge to maintain the privacy of our master players/lucky winner’s database and shall not make available for sale, rent, lease or the illegal use of information about our layers/winners.
(I) In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your reference and batch numbers in every one of your correspondences with your agent.
(j) Should there be any change of your address, do inform your claims agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations again from all our staffs and thank you for being part of our Promotions program.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Roth.
Marketing And Promotions Co-ordinator
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