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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "micro lottery international"
• 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.
  • +31647210360 (Netherlands, 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.
  • microlott77nl@netscape.net

Fraud email example:

From: "microlottery" <mclott789@netscape.com>
Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 14:55:01 -0500
Subject: Good News

MICRO LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
VIJZELSTRAAT 56, 1017 HD,
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS.

FILE REFERENCE NO:CH2005-001-MLI
BATCH: 1505/004NL

TO WINNERS IN OUR PROGRAM

We wish to congratulate you over your success in our computer balloting
sweepstake held on 31th August 2005.

This is a millennium scientific computer game in which email addresses
were used. It is a promotional program aimed at encouraging internet
users; therefore you do not need to buy ticket to enter for it.
However,

your email address was attached to ticket number 10CBG3471913; with
serial number 19034 draw the lucky numbers 1-9-74-31, which eventually
won the lottery in the first category of the draws. This entitled to a
cash award of US$ 2, 500,000.00 (TWO MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND U.S
DOLLARS). This is from total prize money of US$30,000,000.00
distributed to winners from 1st to 3rd categories.

Note that this program was largely promoted and sponsored by a group of
philanthropist, industrialists from the internet ware industry and some
other big multinational firms who wish to be anonymous.

To begin your claim, please contact the claims coordinator

DR. STUART DIENEN
Email address: microlott77nl@netscape.net
TEL: +31 647 210 360

Yours Faithfully,
For: Micro Lottery Int'l
MRS. DENSIE DE HOLIDRIJK

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam