419 scam: "BRITISH LOTTERY OFFICE"<british_lotteries2011@yahoo.co.uk> LOTTERY WINNING NOTIFICATION

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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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
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:
- "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)
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.
- +447031848906 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
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.
- peter_adams2011@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "BRITISH LOTTERY OFFICE" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <brtishloto2011@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:38:11 -0000
Subject: LOTTERY WINNING NOTIFICATION

AUSTRALIA LOTTERY INC
LONDON OFFICE
No 4 Broadway street,
London ,UK
+44-7031848906

Dear Lottery Winner,

This is to inform you that you have won a cash prize of four hundred thousand British pounds (£400,000.00) for 2011 New Year's promotion of the Lottery, which was organized by AUSTRALIA LOTTERY INC for the introduction of the New private domain including new GMAIL YAHOO MAIL BETA!.

However,the draw was that over 29,000 emails worldwide were SEARCHED via the net from an exclusive list of 29,031 E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer (TOPAZ) search from the internet and was later picked at random through electronic balloting hence no tickets were sold but all E-mail addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and privacy.This exercise is introduced by Australia INC in conjunction with UNITED NATIONS.This promotional program takes place every three years.

After this automated computer ballot, your E-mail address emerged as one of the Eight (8) lucky winners in the fourth category for the second prize with the following data:

These are your identification numbers:

Lot Number ..............YBM-EBS-390AF
Reference Number ........YBM-EBS-719AF
The winning number ......YBM-EBS-798AF

To claim your prize, you are required to contact Mr. Peter Adams through this e-mail

AGENT NAME - Mr. Peter Adams Email: peter_adams2011@hotmail.com

PAYMENT OF PRIZE:

You are also required to send your personal data as follows:

(1) Your full names ..................
(2) Your Contact address..............
(3) Your phone number ................
(4) Your Sex .........................
(5) Your age .........................
(6) Your Occupation ..................
(7)Your Country.......................

You select how to transfer the prize money to you:

(1) Bank Transfer (2)Delivery of funds to address through diplomatic means

WARNING!

Do not tell people about your Prize Award until your money has been
successfully given to you to avoid disqualification that may arise from double claim.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam