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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
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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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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.
  • winnersnotification@rediffmail.com

Fraud email example:

From: "winners notification" <notification2006@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: winnersnotification@rediffmail.com
Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 08:45:03 -0500
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION

Dear Sir/Madam.
The U.K. National Lottery
12 Bridge Street,
Staines Middlesex TW18 4TP
United Kingdom.
Ref: LSUK/2031/8161/04
Batch: R3/A312-59

WINNING NOTIFICATION:
We happily announce to you the draw (#489) of the UK
NATIONAL LOTTERY,online Sweepstakes International program held Wenesday
October. 19th,2005.Your e-mail address attached to ticket number:56475600545
188 with Serial number 5368/02 drew the
lucky numbers:11-19-24-27-34-01 which subsequently won you the
lottery in the 2nd category i.e Thunderball Jackpot.You have therefore been
approved to claim a total sum of £250,000(Two hundred and fifty thousand
pounds) in cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/03.All participants for the
online version were selected randomly from World Wide Web sites through
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 £250,000(Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds) would
be released to you by any of our payment offices in Europe.To file for your
claim, please contact our fiduciary agent: Mr.PETER MOORE
Email: winnersnotification@rediffmail.com
Provide him with the information below:
1. Name
2. Address
3. Occupation
4. Marital status
5. Age
6. Country(Present Location)
7. Nationality
8. Telephone and Fax numbers.
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 license 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. You can go to our online
result site to confirm the value of your winnings and also get a prize
breakdown:-www.national-lottery.co.uk/player/p/results/results.do
http://www.lottery.merseyworld.com/
Goodluck from me and members of staff of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY.
Yours faithfully,
Dough Heitinger.
Online coordinator for UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
Sweepstakes International Program.
N.B: Please do not reply to this mail. Contact your
Claims agent immediately.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam