419 scam: Yahoo! <info@yahoo.co.uk> PLEASE REPLY URGENTLY

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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:
- "claims office" (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)
- "livetech@live.co.uk" (this email address has been used in a known scam)
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: Yahoo! <info@yahoo.co.uk>
Reply-To: livetech@live.co.uk
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 16:20:41 +0800
Subject: PLEASE REPLY URGENTLY

YAHOO!-MICROSOFT FINANCIAL
PROMOTIONS DEPARTMENT UK.
REF:MICRO-YAHOO7/315116127/27
BATCH No:15/623/UK.
Registered Lottery No: 220949.

We hereby announce the official notification of the results of the
Yahoo!-Microsoft Financial Promotions held this Month in which your
e-mail address emerged winner.Your e-mail address attached to ticket
number 883734657492-5319 with serial number 7263-267, batch number
8254297137,lottery ref number 7336065782 and drew lucky numbers
14-22-28-37-40-44 which consequently won you the cash prize in the 1s=
t
category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of
=A31,000,000.00 (i.e One Million United Kingdom Pounds).Please note t=
hat
this Promotional Programme tagged "Thanks for contributing to our
financial Sucess" was sponsored and organized by the Yahoo! Microsoft
Corporation in view of the Financial benefits YAHOO! have received fr=
om
its numerous customers either through adverts, hosting and personal
emails.

The reason this lottery was organized is to thank the numerous public
including users and non-users of YAHOO! MAIL for the financial benefi=
ts
THE YAHOO! MICROSOFT CORPORATION have received as a result of their
Patronage last Year.This Lottery is approved and licensed by the
International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR). This lottery i=
s the
first of its kind organised by YAHOO! MICROSOFT In view of this, your=
One
Million United Kingdom Pounds (=A31,000,000.00) would be released to =
you by
the claims office here in UK. The reason this lottery was organized i=
s to
thank the numerous public including users and non-users of YAHOO! MAI=
L for
the financial benefits THE MICROSOFT-YAHOO! CORPORATION have received=
as a
result of their Patronage last Year.

For processing and remittance of your winnings, Beneficiaries who hav=
e
previously received this notification letter are advised to once agai=
n
contact their assigned Remittance Director with his new email address
below;

Contact Info:
Mr.Williams Hollen
Yahoo Office
Remittance Director
Yahoo!-Microsoft Promotions Unit.
44 Moorfields London EC2Y 9AL UNITED KINGDOM
Email:livetech@live.co.uk

APPLICATION FOR PRIZE CLAIM
(Receipt Official Notification Letter)
FULL NAMES................................
CONTACT ADDRESS......................
COUNTRY....................................
SEX:...........................................
AGE............................................
MARITAL STATUS.........................
OCCUPATION..............................
NATION ALITY.............................
TELEPHONE NUMBER....................
HAVE YOU A PASSPORT OR LICENCE(Proof Of Identity):
BATCH NUMBER. ........................
REFERENCE NUMBER...................

Once Again Thanks For Contributing To Our Financial Success!!!

Yours Sincerely,
Steve Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Yahoo!-Microsoft Corporation

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam