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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
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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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
• 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: Infosend uklotto <infosend_uklotto@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 13:00:52 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: HURRAY...YOU HAVE WON!!!


OVERSEAS LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
LONDON.12 BRIDGE STREET,
STAINES MIDDLESEX TW18 4TP UK
REF NUMBER: LDL/653/029/03
BATCH NUMBER: AT-040-SB06-03

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

We are pleased to inform you, THAT AS A RESULT OF OUR RECENT LOTTERY DRAWS HELD on the 09/01/2006. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 27522465896-532 with serial number 652-662 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-23-31-45 which consequently won in the 2nd category. you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay of 500,000 pounds (FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS). Note that all participants in this lottery program have been selected randomly through a computer ballot system drawn from over 20,000 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 purpose 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 millions lot. You are requested to contact our clearance officer below to assist you with 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 numbers in all correspondence. Note, you are to send to us the following information as to open a payment file for you; this is very imperative:

1.NAME IN FULL.
2.CONTACT ADDRESS.
3.TEL/FAX NUMBER.
4.DATE OF BIRTH.
5.OCCUPATION.
6.COUNTRY.

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 18 YEARS OF AGE.
Sincerely yours,
JOHN E. GRANT
TELE:+447-0317-48853
(LOTTERY COORDINATOR)
DEPARTMENT MANAGER, CASH CHANGE LTD



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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam