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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• 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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

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

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million 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)
  • "hundred thousand 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)
  • ",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)
• 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.
  • +2348022634255 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: ben williams <ben_williams03@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: davidblloom04@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 02:20:19 -0800 (PST)
Subject: GLOBAL ACADEMIC AWARD PROMOTION INT'L


FROM: THE DESK OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
DR BEN WILLIAMS (GLOBAL ACADEMIC AWARD PROMOTION)
PRIZE AWARD DEPT.
REF NO: 12/0078/IPG
BATCH NO: EGS/ 20054117/08
ATTN: WINNER.

RE: AWARD NOTIFICATION, FINAL NOTICE.
We are pleased to inform you, that as a result of our
RECENT AWARD PROMOTION DRAWS HELD 2007.Your e-mail
address attached to ticket number:021-7276083-04 with
serial number: 31270-0 drew lucky
numbers:05-06-12-14-38 which consequently won in the
5th category.
You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay of
(FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND US DOLLARS) in cash credited to
file with REF: EGS/3662367114/13. Note that all
participants in this award promotion
program have Been selected randomly through a computer
ballot system drawn from over 20,000 Officials and
30,000,000 individual email addresses from all Search
engines and web sites, from Asia, Australia, New
Zealand, Europe, North and South America, Middle East
and Africa, as part of our International Promotion
Program.

This promotional program takes place every year, and
is promoted and Sponsored by eminent personalities and
corporate organizations.
THIS IS TO IMPROVE THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION WORLDWIDE
AND ALSO HELP THE DISABLED IN UNIVERSITIES AND TO
ENCOURAGE THE USE OF INTERNET AND COMPUTERS WORLDWIDE.
Your fund is now deposited with Union Bank and insured
in your name For Security purpose and clarity; we
advise that you keep your winning Information
confidential until your claims have been processed and
your money remitted to your account.
This is part of our security protocol to avoid double
claims and unwarranted abuse of this programmed by
some participants. We look forward to Your active
participation in our next 4 million dollars slot.
To begin the processing of your prize you are to
contact your claims agent through our accredited Prize
Transfer agents as stated below:
Name; DR BEN WILLIAMS
Phone Num.+2348022634255
You are also advised to provide your claim agent With
the under listed information’s as soon as possible.
Make sure you send it to his email address.


1. Name in full
2. Address
3. Nationality
4. Age
5. Occupation
6. Phone/Fax
7. Batch Number
8. Serial Number

All winnings must be claimed not later than one month
after the date of this notice. Please note, in order
to avoid unnecessary delays and complications,
remember to quote your Batch number and Serial numbers
in all correspondence.
In case you happen to change your email address, you
should inform our agent as soon as possible.
Bear in mind that 10% of your winning prize will be
going to the award promotion organization. But that
should be after you most have received the fund in
your account, the 10% would have been given to them
before your payment, but your fund has already being
insured, therefore we cannot deduct any cent therein
till you receive the fund in your account.
Sincerely,
DR BEN WILLIAMS
VICE PRESIDENT.
GLOBAL ACADEMIC AWARD PROMOTION INT'L


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam