419 scam: "STEPHEN WELLS" <stephenwells9@hotmail.com> AWARD NOTIFICATION FINAL NOTICE (MERRY XMAS)cation. PŒë¸"

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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:

The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
- "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "million 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)
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
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.
- +447031940246 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
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.
- claimsagent1987@yahoo.com (Yahoo; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "STEPHEN WELLS" <stephenwells9@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 14:37:27 -0700
Subject: AWARD NOTIFICATION FINAL NOTICE (MERRY XMAS)

AWARD NOTIFICATION FINAL NOTICE
Good day!
My name is Stephen wells, the prize director representing the
International Lottery Corporation's Un-Claimed Department. On NOVERBER 30
2005
at approximately 3:45pm, I tried contacting you, but unfortunately was
unable to get a hold of you. The main reason for electronically mailing
you this letter is to inform you of the reason for my call. Every year
we receive over 5,000 entry forms from different lottery players from
around the world. Precisely speaking, I was just looking at our network
to find out that you were selected as a prize winner on May. 24th, 2005
and you havn't claimed your winnings, for the sum of US 1,000.000 GREAT
BRITIAN POUNDS Usually when a winner doesn't claim their money there
should be a note that says why the winner has not claimed their money,
and the client file will be closed. So I am mailing in regards to know
why you have not made any effort to claim your money. You have $1,000,000
Million sitting here, waiting for you. I dont know why somebody!
will wait that long to claim their money?? To elaborate more, this
draw was held in Australia, where our head office is located. Moreover,
if we did not hear from you within 3 weeks from the day this letter was
sent, your file will close and you will no longer be able to claim your
winnings. Our main payment office is located in North America. This is
where you will be receiving your amount of winnings1,000.000 MILLION
GREAT BRITIAN POUNDS from. Nevertheless, according to the federal and
international law concerning the personal collection of prize winnings,
your bonding fees, broker fees, and tarrif fees, have already been
deducted from your winnings. So congratulations once again.
For more information concerning your winnings, please contact your
Claims Agent Mr. Stephen Smith via claimsagent1987@yahoo.com clarify your
claims agents.
Due to security precautions, we advise that you keep your
winning information confidential until your claim has been processed and
you have received your certified bank cheque of 1,000.000 million
dollars paid out to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid
double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants.
NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please
remember to quote your reference and Lot numbers in every correspondence
with your agent. Furthermore, should there be any change of your
address, do inform your claim agent as soon as possible. Congratulations
once
again from all members of our staff and thank you for being a part of
our promotional program.
IN ORDER TO VERIFY THAT YOU ARE THE CORRECT RECIPIENT, PLEASE FILL OUT THE
FOLLOWING INFORMATION

1. Name
2. DATE OF BIRTH
3. SEX:
4. MARITAL STATUS:
5.CONTACT ADDRESS
6.TELEPHONE NUMBER:
7.OCCUPATION:
8.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY

REF NO: PDP/2670198402/03
lOT NO: EMD987UYT
TICKET NO:56475600545 188
SERIAL NO:5368/02

Best regards,
STEPHEN WELLS
UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
TEL :+447031940246
FAX :+44871722489

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What can you do when you receive 419 spam