419 scam: Winnings Claims Bonanza Department <teruomacti@yahoo.co.jp> Congratulations To This E-mail Owner,

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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:
- "western union" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "money transfer control number" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "you are required to pay " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
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!
Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.

Fraud email example:

From: Winnings Claims Bonanza Department <teruomacti@yahoo.co.jp>
Reply-To: Winnings Claims Bonanza Department <mremmanueude@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 07:38:54 +0900 (JST)
Subject: Congratulations To This E-mail Owner,

Congratulations To This E-mail Owner,

Thank you for your patronage in using western Union Money Transfer for sending and receiving money, we are so happy to have a customer like you. For using western union your email was put to the Ballot box for the ongoing 2010 to 2015 Western Union Money Transfer annual Bonanza Draw. You have won your self $5.5MILLION USD. This fund will be given to you through our office Western Union Payment agent Office.

Your winnings sum will be paid installment with sums of US$4,900.00 which will be sent to you in every Seven Hours (7 hours) until the funds is completely paid to you or through Our Western Union Gold Card which you will be withdrawing the sum of $5,000.00 daily, we are legally allowed to pay you till you receive your winnings fund worth of $5.5MILLION USD.

The Following is the details needed for your first Western Union Money transfer Control Number.

Receivers Name:
Cellphone number:
Address:
Text Question:
Answer:

Note that the above payment has not been activated because your winning certificate has not been approved, To enable us activate your payment immediately you are required to pay an amount of US$65 for the approval of your winning certificate. Please be informed that this charge can not be deducted from your account because itâ€™s bonded and has been programmed till your final payment. This would be paid once and will never be requested to pay it after your transaction has been activated.

I will Send you payment information of our Western Union Cashier as soon as I hear from you with your receiver details and cellphone number. Upon the receipt of the $65 for the signing of your winning certificate, your programmed transaction will be activated and you will receive your first transaction of usd$4,900.00 or our Western Union Gold Card should be deliver to your address.

Bellow is your wining details.
Ticket Number: FTVU144231033
Serial Number:77950
Winning Number: EA2948-910
Winning Amount: $5.5MILLION USD.

Immediately we receives the $65, our Western Union payment Department shall activate and sign your programmed transaction to enable you receive your first installment. Please Note: this Winning number (EA2948-910) should be kept very safe and secret for your own security, to avoid someone else tempering with your funds.
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We congratulate you in Advance.
Winnings Claims Bonanza Department
Western Union Money Transfer Office
Mr Jimmy Peters
Direct Line:00229 99351675

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam