419 scam: Gary Bail <bail------01@att.net> CONGRATULATIONS

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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:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "foreign service manager" (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.
- +447024074122 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Gary Bail <bail------01@att.net>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2011 01:29:26 -0800 (PST)
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS

Dear Winner,

STAKES LOTTO PROMOTION, UNITED KINGDOM/INT, PROGRAMS. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of $5.5M cash credited to file REF NO.OYL/25041238013/02.Reply for more details.

To file for your claim, please contact our Category "B" fiduciary agent who is your claims agent:

MR. ANDREW BROWN.
FOREIGN SERVICE MANAGER,
Vertex Finance Company.
Email: andybrown02@globomail.com
TEL.: +447024074122

For due processing and the delivery of your won prize to be sent to you through Certified Bank Check or wire transferred.. Please do also send to your claim Agent the following information:

YOUR FULL NAME:
YOUR AGE:
YOUR SEX:
YOUR OCCUPATION:
YOUR TITLE OR POSITION:
YOUR BATCH NUMBER:
YOUR REFERENCE NUMBER:
YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER:
YOUR FAX NUMBER:
YOUR FULL ADDRESS FOR THE POSTAGE OF YOUR WON PRIZE:

However, it should be noted that all won prize must be claimed not later than a month. Any claim not made before this date will be returned back to the STAKES LOTTO PROMOTION as unclaimed won prize.

NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and Complications, please remember to quote your Reference and batch numbers in your correspondences with your claim agent.

Mr. Gary Bail.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam