419 scam: "Yahoo! Online Claims" <info@yahoogroups.com> REF:YAHOO6/315116127/27

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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:
- "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- ",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)
- "00,000.00" (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 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.
- +447024034853 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Yahoo! Online Claims" <info@yahoogroups.com>
Reply-To: mrsclariortiz@live.co.uk
Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:45:48 -0000
Subject: REF:YAHOO6/315116127/27

FROM: THE DESK OF THE PROMOTIONS MANAGER
INTERNATIONAL GRANTS/PRIZE AWARD DEPT
REF:YAHOO6/315116127/27
BATCH:15/623/UK.

The prestigious YAHOO! has set out and successfully organized a
Sweepstakes marking the Begining of the year 2010 anniversary we rolled
out over £1,000,000.00 (One Million Great British Pounds) for our new
year Anniversary Draws. Participants for the draws were randomly
selected and drawn from a wide range of web hosts which we enjoy their
patronage.

The selection was made through a computer draw system attaching
personalized email addresses to ticket numbers. If you ignore this, you
will regret it later. Yahoo! and Microsoft are now the largest Internet
companies and in an effort to make sure that Internet Explorer remains
the most widely used program, Yahoo and Microsoft are running an e-mail
beta test.

Your email address as indicated was drawn and attached to ticket number
883734657492-5319 with REF:YAHOO7/315116127/27 and drew the
BATCH:15/623/UK which subsequently won you £1,000,000.00 (One Million
Great British Pounds) as one of the 10 jackpot winners in this draw. You
have therefore won the entire winning sum of £1,000,000.00 (One Million
Great British Pounds). The draws registered as Draw number one was
conducted in 44 Moorfields London EC2Y 9AL UNITED KINGDOM on the 21st of
March 2010. These Draws are commemorative and as such special.

Please be informed by this winning notification, to file your claims,
you are to make contact with your designated agent who shall by duty
guide you through the process to facilitate the release of your prize.
To file for your claim Please Contact your fiduciary agent.

Mrs Clari Ortiz
E-mail: mrsclariortiz@rcweb.net
Tel: +4470-2403-4853
Yahoo! Promotion Award Team

You are advised to contact your fiduciary agent with the following
details to avoid unnecessary delays and complications:

1. Your Full Names
2. Address & Country
3. Ref: Numbers
4. Batch Number
5. Phone/fax
6. Age / Marital Status
7. Occupation.
8. How do you Feel as a Winner.

Thank you for being part of our commemorative new year Anniversary
Draws. Congratulations from the Staffs & Members of the interative
Lotteries Board Commission :

Sincerely,
Yahoo! Promotion Award Team.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam