419 scam: "Australia"<eldo@adinet.com.uy> Dear Sir/Madam

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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:
- "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
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.
- claimsoffice.australiaorg@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Australia" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <claimsoffice.australiaorg@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:40:22 -0700
Subject: Dear Sir/Madam

Lottery center, London, DN3 5UG, United Kingdom
Ax34587 Melbourne,
Lotto Australia Inc.

Item No: 475061725
Lot No: 7056490902/188
Winning no: gb8701/lprc

Dear Sir/Madam

We are pleased to inform you of your prize release 1
April 2011 Australian international
Lottery program that is fully based on an electronic selection of
Winners using their e-mail address,
Name attached to ticket number, serial number 47061725 07056490902
7741137002.

How to claim your prize: fiduciary simply contact our agent,
Revered Dr. Jerry Kelvin: (claimsoffice.australiaorg@gmail.com)

To present your claim Please quote your reference, batch and winning
Number that can be found at the upper left corner of this notification
As well as your full name, address and telephone number
Help locate the file easily.

Winning Email:
Name:
Surname:
Phone:
Nationality:
Amount Won:
OCCUPATION:
SEX:
AGE:

Mr. Mike miller
Coordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam