419 scam: PowerBall Lottery <pwrballot@aol.com> =?utf-8?B?UkU6IFdJTk5JTkcgVkVSSUZJQ0FUSU9OICEhIeKAjw==?=

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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:
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
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 free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
- pwrballot@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: PowerBall Lottery <pwrballot@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2011 08:00:41 -0800 (PST)
Subject: =?utf-8?B?UkU6IFdJTk5JTkcgVkVSSUZJQ0FUSU9OICEhIeKAjw==?=

Â Â Â Â LOTTERY

POWER BALL LOTTO BV

POWER BALL-WHEEL E-GAME 2011

websites: www.powerball.com

Attention Winner,

This is to notify you that your Email has won the Prize Amount of
US$850,000.00 (Eight Hundred And Fifty Thousand United states Dollars
Only).

Your email ID identified with Coupon No.PBL2348974321 was selected by
Electronic Random Selection System (ERSS) with entries from the 50,000
different email addresses enrolled for the Lotto-Wheel E-game.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE:

Simply fill in your personal information and contact our claims agent on the below email,

(1) FULL NAME: ....................Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (2) FULL ADDRESS: ............

(3) OCCUPATION: ...................Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (4) NATIONALITY: .............

(5) MOBILE/PHONE: .................Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (6) SEX: .....................

(7) AGE: ..........................Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (8) E-MAIL ADDRESS: ..........

(9) AMOUNT WON: ...................

Lottery Claims Officer:

Name: Mr. David Brown

Email: pwrballot@aol.com

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT VIA EMAIL AT:

pwrballot@aol.com

Yours truly,

Christian Moore

(Lottery Co-coordinator)

Â

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â ******** DISCLAIMER ********

This e-mail is confidential, may be legally privileged, and for the
intended recipient only. Access, disclosure, copying, forwarding and
distribution by any means is strictly prohibited. This notice is brought
to you by Power Ball Lottery in affiliate to Multi-State Lottery
Association.

CopyrightÂ© 1997-2011 Multi-State Lottery Association. All Rights Reserved.

===========================================

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam