419 scam: "Mr. Smith Van Harmes."<direclott@qatar.io> Gesture

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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:
- "harmesv@qatar.io" (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.
- +31685142063 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Smith Van Harmes." (may be fake)
Reply-To: <harmesv@qatar.io>
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:21:32 +0100
Subject: Gesture

De Lotto NL.
(Free Sweepstake).
Postbus 3074,
2280GB Rijswijk.
Date: 20th Feb, 2012.

Free Sweeps Notification.

We are please to inform you of the approved and certified result of our Free(Online) Sweepstakes program that was conducted on the 4th February 2012. This e-mail address which was extracted among other e-mail addresses
from the Internet Search Directories and entered into a Free Online Sweepstakes program with a File Serial Number: DLT-83450/047ZL, has won you the email address owner cash prize money of €2,300,000 Euros Only
(Two Million, Three Hundred Thousand Euros Only). You can claim this approved funds only by contacting our payment release department through the below stated details.

De Lotto NL
Mr. Smith Van Harmes.
(Payment Department).
Fax: +31-847-207-620.
Tel: +31-685-142-063
Email: harmesv@qatar.io

This lottery program was conducted by us through the assistance of our Insurance Partner’s as a Goodwill Gesture and it was an email addresses free online sweepstakes program. Your winning funds have to be claimed within 28days of your receipt of this message. See below are the required details which you have to send to our payment department now for the claiming of your winning funds.

1). Complete Full Names:
2). Residential Address:
3). Occupation:
4). Phone/Fax Numbers:

Congratulations and happy spending in advance.

Sincerely yours,

Ms.Fidelia Aken
(Programs Co-ordinator)
De Lotto (Online Sweepstake).
Copyright (c) 2010
http://www.lotto.nl

Disclaimer:
This is a promotional lottery winning and winner’s emerge by luck and you do not need to purchase a ticket before entering this sweepstakes. If you decide not to claim this winning fund, kindly delete this message and ignore it’s request because it is a criminal offense to distribute it content without written permission from us.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam