419 scam: "Outlook.com" <shirleyperezfosgate@btinternet.com> Surprise Surprise !!!

joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet

Try our spam filter!
Free trial for 30 days

Home

About Us

Spam

419/Nigeria

Fraud

Contact

"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:

An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "hundred thousand united states 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)
- ",000,000" (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)
- "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
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.
- +6281210259453 (Indonesia, probably a 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.
- officialsspecialduties@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Outlook.com" <shirleyperezfosgate@btinternet.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2017 11:21:06 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Surprise Surprise !!!

Mega Lotto program
Asia Division 2017.
USA.

Surprise Surprise !!! We are heartened to inform you of the unique result of the Mega Lotto program Asia Division 2017, held on the 30th of March, 2017. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number:, 67929503456787
with corresponding serial number: 013-5635478 drew lucky numbers:
11-78-23-06-20-18 which consequently won in the 2nd category. You have
therefore been approved for a pay-out of $800,000.00 (Eight Hundred
Thousand United States Dollars)

This
is to inform you that the Asia Welfare Lottery Commission has issued
your file to enable you proceed to claim your winning fund.

We
advise you to keep your winning information undisclosed until your
claim has been processed and your fund remitted to you. It is a part of
our security procedure to avert double claiming and unwarranted abuse of
this program by some unscrupulous participants. All participants were
selected through a computer ballot
system drawn from over 20,000 companies and 30,000,000 individual
Facebook accounts, Email addresses and names from all over the world.

You are advice to contact Mr. Wijaya Agung Tel: +62 812 10259453. Email: officialsspecialduties@yahoo.co.uk
for accreditation of your winning and transferring of your
award-winning fund to you. Contact our office as soon as your fund is
transfer to your account to enable us reconcile with our account.

Please
remember, all winnings must be claimed not later than 3 weeks from the
day of Notification. After this claim duration, unclaimed funds will be
null and void. In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications,
please remember to quote your Ticket and Winning lucky numbers in all correspondences. Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform our agent as soon as possible.

Congratulations once more
from our members of staff and thank you for being part of our
promotional program. Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically
disqualified.

Best wishes,
Yours truly,
Mrs. Shirley Perez Fosgate.
Coordinator.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam