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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

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.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "UK NATIONAL LOTTERY" <uknationallottory@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 18:16:18 +0000
Subject: CONGRATS YOU ARE A WINNER

THE NATIONAL LOTTERY
12 BRIDGE STREET,
STAINS MIDDLESEX TW18 4TP
UNITED KINGDOM.
FROM: THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR OF PROMOTIONS,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,
REF: AST341739DS

We are pleased to inform you of the announcement today of winners of the
NATIONAL LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS held on 30th AUGUST 2005 you / your
company, attached to ticket number 013-2316-2002-477, with serial number
A025-09 drew the lucky numbers 37-13-34-85-56-42, and consequently won in
category B.You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay of Five
Hundred Thousand United States Dollars Only in cash credited to file REF NO.
REF: AST341739DS. All participants in this Lottery Program have been
selected randomly through a computer Ballot System drawn from over 200,000
Companies and 30,000,000 individual emails address from all search engines
and web sites from Australia, New Zealand, America, Asia, Europe, USA and
North America as part of our International Promotions Program, which is
conducted monthly. Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that
you keep this award strictly from public notice until your claim has been
processed and your money remitted to your account. This is part of our
security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by
participants of this program.To begin your claim, please contact your claims
officer immediately:
MR PETER MOORE.
CLAIM AGENT
Tel: 0044-704-010-7788
Email:crosscountryexpress_05@yahoo.co.uk
For due processing and remittance of your prize money to a designated
account of your choice, kindly provide him with the following information:
NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please
remember to quote your reference number in every one of your correspondences
with your officer. Furthermore, should there be any change of your address,
do inform your claims officer as soon as possible. Congratulations again
from all our staff and thank you for being part of our promotions program.
Sincerely,
THE DIRECTOR OF PROMOTIONS
MR.MARK SMITH
THE NATIONAL LOTTERY
N.B. Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to
disqualification.
******************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
the system manager.
Office Of National Lottery.


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