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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!
  
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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.

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)
  • "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.
  • +31621911823 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "WINNERS' ASSOCIATION" <claimsagentesxcbvu@entrepreneurs.net>
Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 16:33:09 +0000
Subject: LUCKIEST WINNER!

FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR: INTERNATIONAL PRIZE AWARD DEPT
WINNING NOTIFICATION FOR CATEGORY "A" WINNER ONLY

ATTENTION!

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the last final annual draw of our
LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL Programs. The online cyber lotto draws was conducted from
an exclusive list of 25,000,000 e-mail addresses of individuals and corporate institutions,
picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet. No tickets were sold.

After this automated computer ballot, your e-mail address emerged as a winner in the category "A" with
the following numbers attached Ref Number: PW 9590 ES 9414,Batch Number: 573881545-NL/2005 and
Ticket Number: PP 3502 /8707-01.

You are therefore to receive a cash prize of $1,500,000.00. (One Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars)
from the total payout.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Your prize award has been insured with your e-mail address and will be transferred to you upon meeting our
requirements, statutory obligations, verifications, validations and satisfactory report.
To file in for the processing of your prize winnings, you are advised to contact our Certified and
Accredited claims agent for category "A" winners with the information below:
***********************************************************************************************************
Name: Martin James
Tel: +31 621 911 823
Email: admin@agent-processingdept.com
***********************************************************************************************************
You are advised to provide him with the following information:

1. Given Name (As Stated in your ID)
2. Telephone/Fax number:
3. Nationality:
4. Age:

NOTE: All winnings must be claimed not later than 14 days; thereafter unclaimed funds would be included in the
next stake. Remember to quote your reference information in all correspondence.

You are to keep all lottery information confidential, especially your reference and ticket numbers.
(This is important as a case of double claim will not be tolerated). Members of affiliated agencies
are PROHIBITED from participating in this program.
Furthermore, should there be any change of address, do inform our agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being part of our Promotional Program.

regards,

Walter Jones.
Lottery Coordinator.

***This email may contain confidential and/or privileged information. The information is intended solely
for the use of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that
any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents is prohibited. If you have received this
electronic transmission in error, please notify the sender by telephone or return email and delete the
material from your computer.***

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam