419 scam: "Grace Smith"<DameGriffmm@konin.lm.pl> WINNING NOTIFICATION

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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:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
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.
- +34603195706 (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.
- p.vidalpedro@aol.com (AOL; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: "Grace Smith" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <p.vidalpedro@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:03:45 +0100
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION

THE EUROMILLIONS LOTTERY PROMOTION
ONLINE LOTTERY DEPARTMENT
PO BOX 1010 LIVERPOOL
L70 1NL UNITED KINGDOM.

WINNING NOTIFICATION

We are obliged to announce to you the result of the just concluded final draws of the EuroMillions Online Lottery Promotion that your email was among the 200 Lucky winners who won Two Million Three Hundred Thousand Euros (€2'300'000.00) each on the EuroMillions Online Lottery Promotion dated Wednesday the 31st Day of October 2012.

This is from the total prize money of Four Hundred And Sixty Million Euros (€460'000'000.00) that will be shared among the 200 lucky winners and you are extremely lucky to be one of the lucky winners, therefore you are instantly qualified and eligible to receive a total prize money of Two Million Three Hundred Thousand Euros (€2'300'000.00) following the results we released today and your email is attached to Ticket Number (343-221-8756) and Ballot Serial Number (454-17) and Lucky Star Number (03) (06) and drew the Winning numbers: 4/13/21/27/36/38-45 which subsequently won you the Prize Money.

The online draws was conducted by a random selection of email addresses from an exclusive list of 290,600 E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the Internet. However, no tickets were sold but all email addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and privacy. The selection process was carried out through random selection of our computerized email selection machine (TOPAZ) from a database of 290,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents.

This Lottery program was duly approved by the UK and EU Lottery Board respectively and also Licensed by the The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR). This lottery is the 3rd of its kind and we intend to sensitized the general public of this wonderful initiative. As indicated by the computerized selection machine, your Lucky Star Numbers falls within our Fiduciary Agent in Madrid-Spain and for security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning details private until your claim is processed and your prize money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit.

To claim your prize money, kindly fill the form below and forward same to our Paying Bank representative where a cheque of (€2'300'000.00) has already been issued in your favour.

YOUR FULL NAME:....................
AGE:...............................
SEX:...............................
FULL ADDRESS:......................
EMAIL:........................... .
CONTACT TELEPHONE/FAX NUMBER:......
OCCUPATION:........................
AMOUNT WON.........................
COUNTRY:...............................

Contact Person: Mr. Pedro Vidal
Contact E-mail address: p.vidalpedro@aol.com
Contact Telephone: 0034-603-195-706
Contact Fax: 0034 917 692 733

It is worthy of note to keep your winning details away from the general public, especially your Lucky Star Number to avoid any discrepancies as Euro Millions Lottery shall not be responsible of any false claims and its consequences.

The entire staffs and Management of the Euro Millions Lottery wish to congratulate you for this lucky jackpot and please spend the money prudently. GOOD LUCK!

Yours faithfully,

MS. GRACE SMITH
HEAD, ONLINE LOTTERY DEPARTMENT
THE EURO MILLIONS LOTTERY PROMOTION

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