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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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• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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.
• 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.
  • +27730950803 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
  • +27841970020 (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.
  • info_fana_baloyi03@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Fana Baloyi" <fana.baloyi@hotmail.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: fana.baloyi3@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 15:19:14 +0200
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!! CONGRATULATIONS!! CONGRATULATIONS!!

CONGRATULATION
Private Bag X50, Auckland Park, 2006
Johannesburg, South Africa.

Tel: +27 73 0950803
Fax: +27 84 197 0020
Congratulations!
The International Mega Promotion team is proud to inform you that you have won USD 930,000.00 Why you have won Your E-mail address is one of 200 lucky Addresses who have won in the weekly Promotion.
See below how to claim your prize.
Details on the Winnings
Your Winning Reference Number is: IMP/73253ZA/2005 Batch Number: 642376/ZA/2005.
Just contact our processing manager below for claiming of your prize and remember to quote your reference and Batch Number for easy processing of your prize. That's it!
Processing Manager: Mr. Fana Baloyi
Email:info_fana_baloyi03@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: +27 73 0950803
Fax: +27 84 197 0020
Congratulations again and have a lot of fun.
The International Mega Promotion team

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam