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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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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• 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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: claimsdept110@live.com
Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:12:16 -0500
Subject: ref # : UKL/K5998/U4.

THE BRITISH NEW YEAR LOTTERY ANNOUCMENT / 2008

We are pleased to inform you of the result of UK NATIONAL LOTTERY 2008,

which was held on February 2nd, 2008. Your e-mail address attached TICKET NUMBER: 74454774, SERIAL NUMBER:
144-66584,with DREW LUCKY NUMBERS: 5-21-23-34-61-72 that drewn a prize of 516,778.00 GREAT
BRITISH POUNDS

REQUIRED INFORMATION NEEDED
FULL NAME
ADDRESS
TEL
SEX
AGE
MARITAL STATUS
OCCUPATION
COUNTRY

CLAIMS AGENTS
Mr.Peter Taylor
Email: claimsdept101@live.com

YOUR SECURITY FILE REFERENCE NUMBER IS UKL/K5998/U4. (keep personal).Remember, your winning must be claimed not later
than (ONE MONTH OFNOTIFICATION).

Yours Sincerely,
Mrs.Lucy Baines
LOTTERY CO ORDINATOR

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam