419 scam: "BBC LOTTERY , LONDON"<infolottery@bbc.co.uk> CONGRATULATION'S FROM BBC INTERNATIONAL, LONDON

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
- ",500,000" (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)
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.
- +447045790347 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
- +44447045784352
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.
- infobbcone@gawab.com (Gawab; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "BBC LOTTERY , LONDON" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <bbcone@administrativos.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 00:57:23 +0530
Subject: CONGRATULATION'S FROM BBC INTERNATIONAL, LONDON

Draw no. 1628
04 10 29 32 34 40 BONUS 48
Fax:+ 44 44-704-578-4352
http://www.bbc.co.uk/lottery

Dear Lucky Winner,

It is obvious that this notification will come to you as a surprise but please find time to read it carefully as we congratulate you over your success in the following official publication organized by BBC NATIONAL LOTTERY held this month of July at Ramadah Hotel and towers, presented by John Partridge on Saturday, 30th. A winning prize of $2,500,000.(Two Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars)will be paid to you.The draw no.1628 brought out your email address active from our Data Base system among the selected lucky winners from the 6(Six) Continents of the world.It is important to note that your award was released with the following particulars attached to it.Forward the following Information as listed below and send to our claim managers.We strongly advice it's compulsory you call +44 704 579 0347.

For guideline on how to receive your winning prize payment,send below information to your claim Manager.

(1)File Number: ID2267-2011
(2)Ref. Code :KP23/967/MCL5 /JKT
(3)Grant Number: MICC/97846563459/206
(4)Residential address:
(5)Tel(Mobile):
(6)Nationality/Country:
(7)Full Names:
(8)Your Email:
(9)Age/Sex:
(10)Occupation/Position:
Claim Manager:

Name: Mr. Nick Knowles (phd)
Email: infobbcone@gawab.com
Fax:+ 44 704 579 0347
http://www.bbc.co.uk/lottery

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam