419 scam: "STMICROELECTRONICS COMPANY PLC" <info@st.com> CONGRATULATION:2011 EMAIL PRIZE AWARDS

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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:
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
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.
- +447024086124 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "STMICROELECTRONICS COMPANY PLC" <info@st.com>
Reply-To: microclaimsdepartment@w.cn
Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:45:31 +0800 (CST)
Subject: CONGRATULATION:2011 EMAIL PRIZE AWARDS

STMICROELECTRONICS COMPANY PLC
Address: 39, Chemin du Champ des Filles,
C.P 21, CH 1228, Plan-Les-Ouates,
Geneva, Switzerland
Website: www.st.com

:::___2011 EMAIL PRIZE AWARDS___:::

Dear Winner,

We at STMicroelectronics global office likes to officially congratulate
you for the draw that was just held by our company which featured you as
the second place winner. Our company holds promotions each year just to
promote our global publicity and reputations as we plan to exploit more
corners of the world with our highly valued products line.

This promotion is just one of various ways we are presently using to
achieve this global vision of ours. Your email address with MICRO ID:
(PLD-29103-LGT-901GH-9JL) was luckily drawn to be this year's second place
winner a cash prize of Four Hundred And Eighty Five Thousand ($485,000
USD) United States Dollars. This money and gift we believe will enable you
make some impact in the society and possibly invest in our company in the
near future.

You are hereby requested to contact our agent for more details on our
promotion in particular before taking further actions to claiming your
prize. Ensure you contact Barr. Simon George who is our claim officer in
Europe (United Kingdom) See details of him below:

Name: Barr. Simon George
Email: microclaimsdepartment@w.cn
Tel: +4470-2408-6124
Address: Embark Lane 23, London. United Kingdom

When contacting the claims agent you should include the following if you
must get a response from him:

*** Your Full Name:
*** Address:
*** Country:
*** State:
*** Phone number:
*** Age:
*** Gender:
*** Occupation:
*** Winning email and Micro ID:

We know you must be excited and very happy about this news you have just
received from us and the truth is that we are doing this to put smiles
into homes and hearts of people Worldwide.

Special greetings from the entire family of STMicroelectronics Worldwide

Signed,
Mr. Collins Ferro (Chief Financial Officer)

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam