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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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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.

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:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million us 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)
• 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.
  • +27734619909 (South Africa, 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.
  • claim_department2010@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
  • claimdepartment_2010@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr.Khumalo Mbeeki" <khumalombeki1@yahoo.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: claim_department2010@hotmail.com, or@joewein.net,
claimdepartment_2010@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 09:47:34 +0200
Subject: SOUTH AFRICA 2010 WORLD CUP DRAW

SA 2010 LOTTERY
78 Lower Main Road, Observatory
FROM: THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR PROMOTIONS,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,
REF NO: MELI-T/17-F044262312
Dear
We are pleased to announce to you as one of the 10 lucky winners in the INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAME held on 30TH JUNE 2006. All 10 winning addresses were randomly selected from a batch of 10,000 international emails. Your email address emerged alongside 9 others as a 3rd category winner in this month's draw.
Consequently, you have therefore been approved for total pay out of 10 Million Rand (Ten Million Rand only), which is equivalent to 1.2 Million US Dollars. The following
particulars are attached to your lottery payment order:
(i)Winning numbers: 990-11-815-37-10-83
(ii) Email ticket number: 901-0148-790-691
(iii) Lotto Batch No. 13/FFP/LDL/037
(IV) File REF NO: MELI-T/17-F044262312
Please contact the under listed claims officer as soon as possible for the immediate release of your winnings:
CONTACT AGENT:
Mr.John Vusi
78 Lower Main Road, Observatory,
Johannesburg, South Africa
Tel: + 27 734619909
Email: claim_department2010@hotmail.com <mailto:claim_department2010@hotmail.com> or claimdepartment_2010@yahoo.com

YOU ARE TO PROVIDE THE CLAIM AGENT WITH THE UNDER LISTED
INFORMATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE:
1. NAME IN FULL: ................................
2. ADDRESS: .....................................
3. NATIONALITY: ...............................
4. AGE: ........................................
5. OCCUPATION:..................................
6. PHONE/FAX: ...................................
7. COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE…………………….
8. WINNING EMAIL ADDRESS...........................
Once again on behalf of all our staff, CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Sincerely,
Mr.Khumalo Mbeeki
LOTTERY COORDINATOR.
N.B:
1. All claims are nullified after 21 working days from today.
2. Your Ref number must be in all your mails with the claims officer.
3. Do inform the claims officer of any change of names or addresses.
_______________________________________________________________________
The INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT, SA. Is
proudly sponsored by financial Corp's, the Africa American group and a conglomeration of other international IT companies. And is organized to encourage the use of the Internet and computers worldwide. We are proud to say that
over 200 Million Rands are won annually in more than 150 countries worldwide.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam