419 Scam

Early this morning I received an SMS that said the following (copied from the sms):

Congratulation !!! You won R1,000,000,00 (one Million Rands), your number was selected among the lucky winners of Chevron World Wide international South Africa lottory bonanza Ticket NO: 0404 Batch No:7777 contact our fiduciary claim agent on this number (0763005305) to claim your prize, or email: chevronpaymentdept@gmail.com. Contact person MR MIKE NKOSI. T&C Apply.

The sms came from the following number +27727262858

I hope that you can all see that its a scam message, I can’t believe the Chevron or any company involved with them would make so many spelling and grammar mistakes and why would they use a @gmail.com address? and why is the contact number a cell phone number and not some kind of call center number?

But just in case it wasn’t a scam, I thought I would send them a quick email… (I had entered a few competitions at the local Caltex service station and Caltex is owned by Chevron.)

What follows below is a copy and paste of the email discussion I had with the “chevronpaymentdept@gmail.com”

Dale Nunns to chevronpayment.
Hi,
I’ve just received an sms that says I’ve won R 1 000 000 (One Million Rand) in the Chevron World Wide International South African Lottery. I would like to know how I can go about claiming this prize?
Kind Regards
Fiduciary Agent Chevronpaymentdept to Dale
Attn: Sir/Madam
This is to acknowledge the receipt of your email and you are required to provide the reference number in the sms you received for verification/confirmation of your winning.
I await your response.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. William Trent
Direct Line : ?073 489 4029
Dale Nunns to Fiduciary
Hi,
My ticket no is 0404 Batch No: 7777
Regards,
Dale
Fiduciary Agent Chevronpaymentdept to Dale

Attn: Dale
This is to acknowledge the receipt of your email and we have verified your ticket number and discovered that you won the lottery draws.
You are hereby required to let us know by email or call Mr. Williams on 073 489 4029, if you want to receive your funds in cheque or you want your funds transfer directly to your bank account.
Upon the receipt of your response, you will be provided with the requirements for the payment of your prize.
For security purposes, you are required to keep your winning information secret and confidential till you received your lottery winning funds to avoid us paying to the wrong person.
I await your response.
Congratulations.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. Williams
Direct Line : ?073 489 4029
Dale Nunns to Fiduciary
Hi,
Thank you very much, I would prefer being paid by Cheque.
Could you forward the details you require from me?
Regards,
Dale
Fiduciary Agent Chevronpaymentdept to Dale
Attn: Dale
This is to acknowledge the receipt of your email and since you want your funds in cheque which we will mail to you via the UPS courier services and have it deliver to you in one working day, you are required to provide the below requirements for the immediately release of your cheque of One Million Rands.
1. Your full names
2. Your physical address
3. Payment of R275.00 for the delivery and lottery commission fees
Please note that we only accept payment by Vodacom airtime vouchers, you have to buy Vodacom airtime vouchers of R275.00 and provide the airtime vouchers number along with your names and your physical address.
Upon the receipt of these requirements, we will have them store in our database and approved your file then the cheque of One Million Rands will be issue in your name and mail to you via the UPS courier services. Also note that the Vodacom airtime vouchers number you are to provide will be store in our database and will be use again in our future draws in August and December this year.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. Williams
Phone: 073 489 4029
Dale Nunns to Fiduciary
Hi,
I am rather excited to receive the money.
I realise that there are costs involved with delivering my cheque, I’m more than willing to have you deduct the fees required from my winnings along with an extra something for yourselves as I’m sure you’ll agree that R 275.00 is not a lot to get for commission considering UPS charge a lot of money to deliver an envelope. Therefor I request that the cheque be made out for the sum of R 900 000 (Nine Hundred Thousand Rands) and that you keep the difference for yourselves.
Regards,
Dale

I haven’t heard anything back from them, so I assume they’ve moved on to more?gullible?people. What scares me is the number of people who actually believe these scams, I have a few simple rules… I never give out banking details, never give out personal details beyond a name and number or email address and if I’m required to pay something I don’t bother with it either. The other thing that sets alarm bells ringing is the bad spelling or grammar in the emails/sms’s.

A lot of people think that internet, email and cellphones have caused this kind of “scamming” but in truth all they have done is made it easier and cheaper to reach a wider audience. Before internet and email became popular they used to do the same kind of scam via fax.

Lots of info can be found on this awesome website thats got tons of info on these scams.