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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "lottery winners international e-mail programs"
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: euro million <euro_promo@safe-mail.net>
Reply-To: euro_credit@walla.com
Date: Sun, 12 Feb 2006 02:59:02 +0100
Subject: EURO MILLION INTERNATIONAL



EURO MILLIONS LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL.
FROM: INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION/PRIZE AWARD DEPT.
REFERENCE :EGGS-541-623-782
BATCH :67/80/IPD
RE: WINNING NOTIFICATION / FINAL NOTICE
Sir/Madam
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Euro millions Lottery
Winners International E-mail programs held on the 17th of febuary 2006. Your
E-mail address attached to ticket number 653-908-321-675 with serial main
number 345-790-241-671 drew lucky s
tar numbers 34-32-90-43-32 which consequently won in the 5th category,
you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of 1.000.000.00
Euro.(One Million Euro)
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your
winning information confidential until your claims has been processed and
your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid
double claiming and unwarranted abuse
of this program by some participants. All participants were selected
through a computer ballot system drawn from over 100,000 company and
50,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world.
This lottery was promoted and sponsored by Bill Gates, President of
Microsoft, the world's largest software company in order to enhance and
promote the use of Internet Explorer Users and Microsoft-wares around the
globe. This promotional program takes pl
ace every three year. We hope with part of your winning you will take
part in our end of year 50 million Euro International lottery. To file for
your claim, please contact our fiducial agent: DR. Jonathan White (SANTA
LUCIA SECURITY COMPANY SPAIN)
Email:euro_credit@walla.com
Remember, all winning must be claimed not later than two weeks, After
this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake.
Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications please
remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all
correspondence. Furthermore, should there be any change of address do
inform our agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for
being part of our promotional program.
Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.
Sincerely yours,
MRS,COMFORT MARIS
lottery Coordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam