419 scam: "AOL MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTO" <info@aol.co.uk> *****SPAM***** RESULT

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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
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: "AOL MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTO" <info@aol.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2009 21:54:23 +0700 (WIT)
Subject: *****SPAM***** RESULT

Spam detection software, running on the system "mx.tsipil.ugm.ac.id", has
identified this incoming email as possible spam. The original message
has been attached to this so you can view it (if it isn't spam) or label
similar future email. If you have any questions, see
the administrator of that system for details.

Content preview: -- AOL UNITED KINGDOM PROMOTION 80 HAMMERSMITH ROAD LONDON
W14 8UD UNITED KINGDOM FROM: THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS, INTERNATIONAL
PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT, REF NO: M154S/WL04-F0442623 [...]

Content analysis details: (6.9 points, 3.0 required)

pts rule name description
---- ---------------------- --------------------------------------------------
-1.4 ALL_TRUSTED Passed through trusted hosts only via SMTP
2.6 TVD_APPROVED BODY: TVD_APPROVED
1.1 NA_DOLLARS BODY: Talks about a million North American dollars
1.2 US_DOLLARS_3 BODY: Mentions millions of $ ($NN,NNN,NNN.NN)
2.0 ADVANCE_FEE_2 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
1.4 ADVANCE_FEE_3 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam