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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:
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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:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million united states 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)
  • ",000,000" (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)
  • "00,000.00" (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)
  • "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
• 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.
  • +2348034678174 (Nigeria, 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.
  • ecowasclaims_2007@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: ECOWAS DONATIONS 2007 <hpo@mail.fm>
Date: Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:26:27 +1100
Subject: $1,000,000.00 Donations Grant From Ecowas

Ecowas donations 2008
Tel: +234-80-3467-8174

This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of One
Million United States Dollars, ($1,000,000.00) for this year 2008
Lottery promotion which is organized by ECOWAS DONATIONS 2008.

ECOWAS DONATIONS 2008, collects all the email addresses of
the people that areactive online, among the millions that subscribed to
the Internet.we only select five people every Year as our winners
through electronic balloting System without the winner applying,we congratulate
you for being one of the people selected. These are your identification
numbers:

Batch number.....................ECW 09102XN
Reff number.......................ECW35447XN
Winning number...................ECW09788

These numbers fall within your Location file, you are
requested to contact theevents manager/Claims Department, send your
winning identification numbers to him,to enable him verify your
claims.You must call +234-8034-678-174 for confirmation and to
speak with the claims agent(Dr. Walam Jackson)

(CONTACT FINANCE DEPARTMENT)
Name:Dr. Walam Jackson
Tel: +234-80-3467-8174
E-mail: ecowasclaims_2007@yahoo.com.hk

THIS FORM SHOULD BE FILED BY THE LOTTERY WINNER OF THE
STATED FUND FOR VERIFICATION BEFORE PROCESSING THE LOTTERY WINNING:

FULL NAME:_________
RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS:________
OCCUPATION:_________
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH:___________
COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE:_______
TEL NO:__________
FAX:________
EMAIL:_________
WINNINGNUMBER:________
BATCH NUMBER:__________

Thank you and Accept my hearty congratulations once again!

Yours faithfully,
Mrs.Mary Jones



---- Msg sent via MAIL.FM

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam