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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.
  • +447040124052 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Gary Philip" <gphilip_blc@msn.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 19:42:34 +0000
Subject: 2005 Bristish Lotto Plus Award.

Dear Prize Winner,
RESULTS FOR PROMOTIONAL DRAW
BRITISH LOTTO PLUS, wishes to inform you of the results of its Promotional
draws held on the 1ST of October 2005 as part of our yearly bonanza. We are
happy to officially inform you that you have emerged a winner under our
Third Category Draws.
Participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from
50,000 names/email addresses of individuals and companies from all over the
world.

You have consequently been awarded a lump sum pay out of £2,200,000.00 (Two
Million Two Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds) in cash, which is the
winning payout for Third Category winners. This is from the total prize
money of £11,000,000.00 shared between 5 international winners in the
category.

(i) Winning Numbers: 01, 09, 17, 33, 35, 38, (45)
(ii) Ticket Number: 44-8201-093
(iii) File Reference Number: BLP20-147-1
(iv) Lotto Batch Number: A14736

please contact your claims agent immediately. Find below all contact
details;

MR. WALTER SMITH,
FOREIGN SECTION MANAGER,
ALPHA BETA FINANCE.
PHONE: +44-70-4012-4052
FAX: +44-20-7504-8763
Email: wsmith@al-bef.com

For easy reference and identification, your lotto payment order details
stated above must be provided to your claims agent.

Congratulations once again from all our staff and thank you for being part
of our promotions program.

Sincerely,
GARY PHILIP,
LOTTERY COORDINATOR,
BRITISH LOTTO PLUS.
8 CHANCEL ST.
LONDON, SE1 0UX
Phone: +44-70-4012-4049
Fax: +44-20-8181-7964

N.B. Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to
disqualification.

Please do not reply to this email. Contact your claims agent Mr.Walter Smith
as specified above. (TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY).

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam