419 scam: "Facebook"<balloting@facebookgoldstatus.com> Dear Facebook user

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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:
- "hundred thousand us 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)
- "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 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.

Fraud email example:

From: "Facebook" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <goldupgrade@facebookaward.org>
Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:12:38 -0500
Subject: Dear Facebook user

Dear Facebook user,

Congratulations!

Your account has been nominated for Gold Membership which qualifies you for a cash award of USD$2,500,000.00 (Two Million Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars) and other benefits such as video chatting and adding videos to profile images etc.

You are therefore advised to contact our Executive Secretary for further directives on how to receive your upgrade benefits.Ensure to quote the following information for authentication:Full Names, Age, Gold membership reference code (FB-TK206E), and Current location to the Executive Sec.

Contact Person: Mrs. Joanna Rivera (Executive Secretary)
Email: goldupgrade@facebookaward.org

Payment would be made to you and other qualified members not later than 7 working days from the date of notification.

Kindly disregard/delete this email if you are not a Facebook user because this upgrade and its benefits are meant only for already existing Facebook account holders.

Note: Ensure to keep all winning information strictly confidential to avoid multiple claims which may lead to disqualification, and do not forget your Gold membership reference code (FB-TK206E).

Thanks,

The Facebook Team

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam