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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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• 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:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash)
• 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.
  • lotteryclaim@katamail.com

Fraud email example:

From: "National Lottery" <sweepstakeslottery16@msn.com>
Reply-To: lotteryclaim@katamail.com
Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 09:49:36 +0000
Subject: You have won

UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

The National Lottery
PO Box 1010
Liverpool
L70 1NL
United Kingdom.
Ref: LSUK/2031/8161/05
Batch: R3/A312-59

WINNING NOTIFICATION:
 
We happily announce to you the draw (#982) held on Saturday , 21st May 2005.
Your e-mail address attached to ticketnumber: 56475600545 188
with Serial number 5368/02 drew the lucky numbers: 14,34,38,43,47,48,09.
which subsequently won you the  match five plus bonus. You have therefore been
approved to claim a total sum of £178,226 (One Hundred Seventy Eight Thousand Two Hundred and Twenty Six Pounds Sterling) in cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/03.
All participants for the online version were selected randomly from the
World Wide Web through a computer draw system and extracted from over
100,000 unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are listed
online. This promotion takes place weekly.
 
Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European
booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon. 
In view of this, your £178,226 would be released to you by any of
our payment offices in Europe.

To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent:
Mr. Samuel Rogers
Email:  lotteryclaim@katamail.com

Provide him with the information below:
1.Name:
2.Address:
3.Marital Status:
4.Occupation:
5.Age:
6.Sex:
7.Nationality:
8.Country Of Residence:
9.Telephone Number:
10.Fax Number:
11.Draw Number above:
 
That way your Winnings Certificate and all other relevant
documents/paperwork can be prepared for you.  You would be required to
show an instrument of identification when cashing your cheque i.e. Drivers
icense or International passport. For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning

information confidential till your claims is processed and
your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim
your prize. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double
claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned.
 
 
Good luck from me and members of staff of the U.K NATIONAL LOTTERY.
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Sir Jones Bradford.
Online Co-ordinator for U.K NATIONAL LOTTERY Sweepstakes International
Program.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam