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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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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)
  • "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.
  • lotto_claimsagent1995@yahoo.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: "Lotto Claimsagent" <lotto_claimsagent3004@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: lotto_claimsagent1995@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 03:49:13 -0500
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS

FROM

NEW HOPE LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL

NIEUWE ZIJDS VOORBURGWAL, NL- 1009 CEH

AMSTERDAM NETHERLANDS

REF NUMBER: NHL/653/029/03/SA

BATCH NUMBER: AT-040-SB06.

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

We are pleased to inform you, THAT AS A RESULT OF OUR RECENT LOTTERY

DRAWS HELD on the 15th December, 2005.

Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 27511465896-6410 with Serial
number 4204-777 drew lucky numbers 5-21-23-34-61-72 which consequently won
in the 1st category. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out
of 2,500,000 (EUROS)(Two MILLION, Five hundred thousand EUROS)

Note that All participants in this lottery program have been selected
randomly through a computer ballot system drawn from over 200,000 companies
and 30,000,000 individual email addresses from all search engines and web
sites.

This promotional program takes place every year, and is promoted and
sponsored by eminent personalities like the Sultan of Brunei, Bill Gates of
Microsoft Inc and other corporate organizations. This is to encourage the
use of the internet and computers worldwide.

For security purposes and clarity, we advise that you keep your winning

information confidential until your claims have been processed and your

money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double
claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants. We look
forward to your active participation in our next year USD50 million slot.


You are requested to contact your claims clearance officer as named below,
to assist you with the processing of your winnings and subsequent
payments.All winnings must be claimed not later than one month after the
date of This notice.

Please note, in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications,
remember to quote your reference number and batch number in all
correspondence. Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform
our agent As soon as possible.

Congratulations once more and thank you for being part of our Promotional
program.


NOTE: YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED IF YOU ARE BELOW 21 YEARS OF

AGE.

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Janet Freiburg,

(LOTTERY COORDINATOR)



CLAIMS AGENT:

Mr. Philip Smith

Standard Securities and Vault Services.

lotto_claimsagent1995@yahoo.co.uk

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam