419 scam: "Mrs Maria"<departmentunit@terra.es> Hello.

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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:
- "claim agent" (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 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.
- +34634100126 (Spain, prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- informmdept@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs Maria" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <informmdept@aim.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2011 23:47:10 +0100
Subject: Hello.

Attn:Beneficiary,

We hereby informed you today that your e-mail id was selected through computer ballot system,as a winner of Amount Won 500,000(Euros)in our Europe Support Program (ESP) Bonanza Award.The online cyber draws was conducted from an exclusive list of 500,000 email addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer selection from the web. Your email address is attached to the winning number : Check result here: http://www.onlae.es/euroMillones/comprobar.aspx

This promotional program takes place every year,and is promoted and sponsored by eminent personalities like King Of Spain, Movistar Inc,San Miguel beers and other corporate organizations.This is to encourage the use of the Internet and computers worldwide.We look forward to your active participation in our next year 50 million euros slot.

Bear in mind that prizes will strictly be remitted to winners that officially file in for their claim within the given time frame.To begin your claim, you are to forward this message to your accredited claim agent with your full details information.Your prize award has been insured with your email address and will be transferred to you upon meeting the requirement of the gaming board authority which includes your statutory obligations.

Check result here: http://www.onlae.es/euroMillones/comprobar.aspx
Claim Agent: Mr Xavi Alonso
Email Address to contact: informmdept@aim.com
Tel/fax:+34 634 100 126

(1) Your Full Names:
(2) Your mailing address:
(3) Your Nationality/Country:
{4} Your Tel(Mobile):
{5} Your Occupation:
{6} Your Age:
{7} Mode of Payment:

Amount Won 500,000(Euros)(Five Hundred thousand Euros only)

Best Regards,

Mrs Lorriet Gomez.(Lottery co-ordinator).

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam