419 scam: "Mr. Frank Hamilton"<jaywalter@yahoo.com> Winning Notification!!!Lottery Winner.idecy@safe-mail.net> RE:DEBT SETTLEMENTION._

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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:
- ",500,000" (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)
- "c_white112@live.com" (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: "Mr. Frank Hamilton" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <c_white112@live.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2010 22:01:46 +0200
Subject: Winning Notification!!!

Dear Winner,

This is to announce to you that your email address have won one of our prestigious prizes in this year's lottery sweepstake. Individual email addresses were selected from national directories of over 150 countries around the world. After the balloting, your email address attached to Winning Number 9-27-28-33-39-41-12, won the sum of Seven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds (£7,500,000 GBP).

To begin your claim, please contact our director of finance in London with the information given below. Please quote your Winning Number; 9-27-28-33-39-41-12 to help locate your file easily.

Name: Carla White
Email: c_white112@live.com

However, be informed that all winnings MUST be claimed TWO (2) WEEKS after this winning notification otherwise will be returned as unclaimed and eventually donated to charity organization.

Yours Faithfully,

Mr. Frank Hamilton
Announcer
British International Lottery Inc

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam