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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:
  • "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 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.
  • thesunlottery@yahoo.com

Fraud email example:

From: The Sun Lottery <thesunlondonlottery@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 03:11:48 +0100 (BST)
Subject: On behalf of all our staff in Sun Trust Lottery Promotions International, accept my Congratulations!


From: The Desk of Dr. Peter Wett.
Lottery Coordinator
SunTrust Lottery Promotions International®.
Ref. Number: 132/756/4534
Batch number: 638901527-AMB/02
GRAND FECILITATIONS TO YOU MR. HOWARD SMITH !!!
Hurray! You have been selected as one of the five lucky winners in the second edition of the SunTrust Lottery Promotions International® draw.
You have therefore been approved for a huge payout of 2.5 Million Euros (Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Euros Only).
How was the selection process done?
Winners were randomly selected from an initial database of 500,000 emails which was eventually downsized to 5,000 from which we eventually selected the final and lucky five.
The process was done through the computerized email balloting system selecting emails from The Middle East, Asia, Africa, Canada, Europe, USA and South America.
The process of collecting your winnings is to be handled by our Prize Transfer Agents. To ensure a smooth collection of your grand prize, You are to contact our agents by email or telephone within a week of
receiving this notice.
Please find full contact details below:
Mr. Peter Moore
Payment Officer
Email: thesunlottery@yahoo.com
Please note, when you contact your claims agent please remember to quote your reference number and batch number in all correspondence.
Ref. Number: 132/756/4534
Batch number: 638901527-AMB/02
Furthermore you are seriously advised to keep all winning lottery information and numbers from the public in line with our company security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by unscrupulous individuals.
Please do not reply to this email, contact your claims agent as instructed above.
On behalf of all our staff in Sun Trust Lottery Promotions International, accept my Congratulations!
DR. PETER WETT.
Lottery Co-ordinator,
London, England.
**********************************************************************
Note: Participants below 21 years are automatically disqualified.
All e-mail transmission/correspondence are 100% protected by our Secure
Socket Layer (SSL) server.
*********************************************************************


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam