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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:

• 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!
• 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.
  • +447031947394 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448701311505 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +447031918241 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • johnturrell2@sify.com

Fraud email example:

From: "Elizabeth Dickson" <elizabethdickson@msn.com>
Date: Mon, 03 Oct 2005 09:29:39 +0000
Subject: congratulation

FROM: THE LOTTERY COORDINATOR,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT, UK.

Dear Winner,
We are please to announce you as one of the 6 lucky winners in the IMPERIAL
LOTTERY draw held on 1st of october. All 6 winning addresses were randomly
selected from a batch of 40,000 international emails. Your email address
emerged alongside 5 others as a 3rd category winner in this month's draw.

Consequently, you have therefore been approved for a total pay out of
£2,000,000 Pounds (Two million pounds) only. The following particulars are
attached to your lotto payment order:

(i) Winning numbers: 07, 15, 29, 37, 48, 56
(ii) Email ticket number: 273-1-3221
(iii) Lotto batch number: 289-4PP
(iv) File Ref. number: IL6341-2

Please contact the underlisted claims officer as soon as possible for the
immediate release of your winnings:

Mr. John Turrell,
FOREIGN DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR,
FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD.
Tel +44 703 1947 394
fax. +44-870-1311-505
Email: mr.johnturrell2@sify.com

Once again on behalf of all our staff, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Sincerely,
Mrs Elizabeth Dickson.
LOTTERY COORDINATOR,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS.
PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT, UK.
RUSSELL SQUARE HOUSE 15-17,
RUSSELL SQUARE,
LONDON, WC1B 5EH
Tel: +44 703 191 8241

N.B:
1.All claims are nullified after 10 working days from today.
2.Your Ref number must be in all your mails with the claims officer.
3.Do inform the claims officer of any change of names or addresses.
4.Please do not reply to this email. Contact your claims agent.
______________________________________________________________

The INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT, UK. is proudly
sponsored by financial Corp's,the Imperial group and a conglomeration of
other international IT companies. and is organized to encourage the use of
the internet and computers worldwide. We are proud to say that over 200
Million Pounds are won annually in more than 150 countries worldwide.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam