Sent: Tue, Feb 7, 2006
From: "MSW MSW" <mswlotterydepartmentawardoffice@yahoo.com.au>
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS: YOU HAVE WON THE MSW LOTTERY!!!
To: mswlotterydepartmentawardoffice@yahoo.com.au

FROM: THE DESK OF THE E-MAIL PROMOTIONS MANAGER INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE

AWARD DEPARTMENT, MICROSOFT CORPORATION WORD LOTTERY

UNITED KINGDOM.61-70 Southampton Row,

Bloomsbury London United Kingdom WC1B 4AR.

REFERENCE NO: MSW-L/200-26937

BATCH NO: 2005SEPTL#22

WINNER NO: 5

ELECTRONIC MAIL AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION

AWARD PRESENTATION CENTER: UNITED KINGDOM

                           WINNING NOTIFICATION !

Dear Sir/ Madam,

We the MICROSOFT COOPERATION MANAGEMENT WORLDWIDE are pleased to inform you of the today’s winners of our annual MS-WORD LOTTO LOTTERY conducted in AFRICA BEING THE HOST OF THE EVENT FOR THIS PRESENT YEAR MEGA JACKPOT LOTTO WINNING PROGRAMS HELD ON 1ST FEBUARY 2006.

Your Personal E-mail address or Company email is attached to WINNER NO: 5 JANUARY-2006-02MSW, with serial number S/N-00168 drew the lucky numbers 887-13-865-37-10-83, and consequently won in the first lottery category. You have therefore been approved for lump sums pay  ofGBP   550,000.00 ( (Five hundred and Fifty Thousand Pounds Sterling) in cash Credited to file REF NO:MSW-L/200-26937 this is from total prize money of GBP 5,500,000.00 POUNDS, shared among the Ten (10) lucky international winners in first and second category.

All participants were selected from Worldwide Websites especially yahoo mail through our Microsoft computer ballot system drawn from 21,000 e-mail address, 3,000 e-mail address from each continent (Canada, Asia, Australia, United state, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania , as part of International "E-MAIL" Promotions Program, Which is conducted annually for our prominent MS -WORD users all over the world, and to encourage the use of Internet and Computers worldwide. 

Your fund (certified cheque) has been insured with your REF NO: MSW-L/200-26937 and will be ready for delivery. It will be delivered to you by one of our Paymaster Staff in charge of African zone ( PROF . FAHIM HAFIZ ). Your E-mail address should be used in all correspondence with your claims officer, please Note that, you are to contact your claims officer via email and phone as we are promoting the use of E-mail. Also you have the right to call him to confirm your winnings and government tax payment that is all, as he will provide you with the necessary details on how to claim Your prize.

You are to keep your ref. number and batch number from the public, until you have been processed and your prize money delivered to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and the act of scamming people of their ref number and prizes. We hope with a part of your prize, you will participate in our next year High stakes of US$0.3billion International Lottery. To claim your winning prize, you must first contact our African claims department by email for Processing and remittance of your prize money to you.

THE  PAYMASTER OFFICER CONTACT EMAIL IS:

PROF . FAHIM HAFIZ           

   (PAYMASTER)

E-MAIL : mswlotterypaymentunit365@yahoo.com.au

TELL: +234-8038842792

Fax: 234-8033355514

Remember, all prize money must be claimed not later than the 28TH FEBUARY 2006. All funds not Claimed on or before the fixed date will be returned as Unclaimed and donated to charity organization in Africa.

NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your reference and batch numbers in all correspondences with your claims officer. Do not reply any other mails like this on net, as they are a lot of scam artist out there pretending to be us. You may see mails like this do not reply. Do contact your claims officer ( PROF . FAHIM HAFIZ).At once you will be asked to provide some details to enable the office proceed with your winning certificate and file keeping.

Congratulations, once more from the entire Management and Staff of Microsoft Cooperation to all our  lucky winners this year. Thank you for being part of this promotional lottery program. Our special thanks and gratitude to Bill Gate of Microsoft and all his Associates for alliviating poverty round the World.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Basheera Manama             Mrs. Caro Smith

(Co-ordinator).                                    ( Secretary )

LOTTERY SPONSORS: CHIEF SPONSORS;

MICROSOFT CORPORATION UK,             MICROSOFT CORPORATION AFRICA,

MICROSOFT CORPORATION USA,           MICROSOFT CORPORATION ASIA.

Past winners.

At the first glance, this winning notification looks very impressive. Let us look on the details:

1. The email was not sent to me personally. I must have been part of a mailinglist. I wonder how many other were on that list? Here are some of them: http://www.google.com/search?q=MSW-L%2F200-26937
2. The email was sent from a free email account at Yahoo. A real lottery would not do that.
3. The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom look most impressive, but what is it doing in a lottery?
4. The "MICROSOFT CORPORATION WORD LOTTERY" does not exist. The address "61-70 Southampton Row" is false. There is an office building, Victoria House, at 37-63 Southampton Row. The Spink building is located at 69 Southampton Row. Koolays Cafe is located at 68-70 Southampton Row.
5. A signature from Carl A. Nobody together with the word APPROVED does not impress me.
6. The telephone and fax numbers are Nigerian mobile phones.
7. I like the phrase "You may see mails like this do not reply". Do not reply to this one either!
8. The picture of co-ordinator Mrs. Basheera is in fact a picture of Nadia Bakhurji. She is an architect from Saudi Arabia.
9. The picture of secretary Mrs. Caro Smith is in fact a picture of Queen Salote Tupou III of Tonga. She died in 1965!
10. There is nothing called "MICROSOFT CORPORATION UK", "MICROSOFT CORPORATION AFRICA" and "MICROSOFT CORPORATION ASIA".
11. The pictures of "past winners" are from other lotteries and a conference (see below).
    

Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom

Spink building at 69 Southampton Row, London

Nadia Bakhurji

Queen Salote Tupou III of Tonga (1918-65)

Here is Microsofts advice on Advance Fee Fraud:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/email/hoaxes.mspx

On March 28, 2006, P.G. sends me this: