419 scam: "Mrs. Mercy Martins"<ladyprincess.calahi@rsbernaldo.com> NOTICE!!!! NOTICE!!!

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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:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "million british pounds" (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)
- ",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)
- "custormerservice@live.co.za" (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!
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.
- +27717451283 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Mercy Martins" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <custormerservice@live.co.za>
Date: Thu, 5 May 2011 13:27:51 +0200
Subject: NOTICE!!!! NOTICE!!!

Yahoo Awards Center

BRITISH MICROSOFT E-MAIL SELECT AWARD FROM HEAD OFFICES LONDON
British Microsoft Award
Headquarters: Customer Service
33 Yatch Basin Marina Offices,
Upontyne Newcastle London

Dear Winner,

You have just won (One Million British Pounds Sterling) in the Yahoo Cum Windows Live Prize E-mail Lottery held in London, United Kindom.All participants were selected through a computer ballot system draw from Microsoft users from over 20,000.00 companies and 3,000,000.00 individual email addresses and names from all over the continents of the world including Africa, Pacific, America, South America, Middle East, Antarctica, Caribbean's Far East, Europe, Asia

You have just won yourself the sum of (GBP£1,000,000.00) in the satellite software email lottery.
Payment Of Prize And Claim
Winners are to be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Center. This Prize Award must be claimed in not later than 15 days from date of draw notification after which unclaimed prizes are cancelled.

WINNER NO: 4

These Are Your Identification Numbers:
Batch Number: Mfi/07/Apa-43658
Reference Number: 2007234522

These Numbers Fall Within The South African File. Thus, You Are Requested To Contact Our Fiduciary Agent In Johannesburg And Send Your Winning Identification Numbers To Him:

Contact No: Foreign Transfer Agent
Name Mr. Paul White
United Kingdom Microsoft Award Representative Agent In South Africa
Tel: +27 71 7 451 283
E-Mail: custormerservice@live.co.za

Kindly Send The Following Information To Your Claim Agent To Facilitate The Release Of Your Fund.
1. Full Name................. 6. Country....................... .
2. Telephone Number... 7. Fax Number....................
3. Date Of Birth............... 8. Occupation..................
4. Contact Address............ 9.Email address...............
5.Copy Of Your International Passport Or Drivers License.......………………..

Once Your Agent Acknowledges Receipt Of This Required Detail, Transfer Would Commence.

Congratulations!! Once Again.

Yours in service,

Congratulations!! Once Again.
Yours in service,

Dr.(Mrs)Mercy Martins

NOTE
You are hereby advised not to disclose the content of this Prize Award until your money have been remitted to you to avoid disqualification that will arise from dual claim

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam