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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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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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)
  • "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
• 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: "Mrs. Jessica McManaman" <jessicamcmanaman@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 10:29:21 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATION YOU HAVE WON A PRIZE

URGENT WINNING NOTIFICATION:
DEAR SIR/MADAM,

THIS IS TO NOTIFY YOU THAT WE HAVE JUST CONCLUDED A RANDOM EMAIL LOTTERY
HELD WORLDWIDE AND THAT YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS ATTACHED TO TICKET NUMBER:
JKQ6432331922/021/301 IN THE FIRST CATEGORY HAS WON YOU A PRIZE.YOU HAVE
THEREFORE BEEN APPROVED TO CLAIM A TOTAL SUM OF US$5.500,000.00 (FIVE
MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATE DOLLARS) BEING YOUR LUCKY WIN
THROUGH THE RANDOM SELECTION OF YOUR INTERNET EMAIL ADDRESS. CLAIM IS EASY
UPON PROPER IDENTIFICATION AND ADHERENCE TO GUIDELINES.

EMAIL ADDRESSES WERE SELECTED RANDOMLY FROM WORLD WIDE WEB SITES THROUGH
COMPUTER DRAW SYSTEM AND EXTRACTED FROM OVER 100,000 COMPANIES AND 500,000
INDIVIDUAL EMAIL ADDRESSES. THIS PROMOTION IS A NEW ANNUAL EVENT ORGANISED
BY MAJOR COMPUTER AND INTERNET COMPANIES IN APPRECIATION OF THE HUGE PROFIT
THE INDUSTRY HAS GENERATED WITHIN ITS SHORT LIFE.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR LUCKY WINNING NUMBER FALLS WITHIN OUR EUROPEAN PAYMENT
ZONE AS ZONED BY COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN OF BENEFICIARIES COUPON. IN VIEW OF
THIS, YOUR U.S$5,500,000.00 (FIVE MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED
STATES DOLLARS) WOULD BE RELEASED TO YOU BY OUR PAYMENT OFFICE IN U.K.

FOR CLAIMS, PLEASE CONTACT IMMEDIATELY OUR EUROPEAN PAYMENT OFFICER IN THE
NAME OF MR.DONALD BENSON ON EMAIL ADDRES donaldbenson1@merseymail.com HE
SWILL GUIDE YOU ON HOW TO ACCESS YOUR WINNING FROM OUR WEBSITE BY PROVIDING
YOU WITH THE WINNING DETAILS AS WELL AS NUMBERS FOR ONWARD REMITTANCE OF THE
STIPULATED AMOUNT.

YOU ARE TO SEND TO HIM TO FOLLOWING DETAILS TO ENABLE HIM PROCESS YOUR
WINNING.

1. YOUR FULL NAME
2. YOUR CONTACT DETAILS
3. YOUR OCCUPATION
4. YOUR AGE (PEOPLE BELOW 18 YEARS ARE DISQUALIFIED.
5. LIST 5 WEBSITES MOST VISITED BY YOU
6. ALWAYS QUOTE YOUR WINNING NIMBER
7. TELEPHONE NUMBER

WINNING DETAILS ARE WITHHELD TO AVOID DOUBLE CLAIMS AND WILL BE PROVIDED TO
YOU UPON ESTABLISHING CONTACT WITH HIM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO KEEP THIS
INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL UNTIL YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED CONTACT WITH THE PAYMENT
OFFICER TO AVOID DOUBLE CLAIMS.

PLEASE ACCEPT OUR CONGRATULATIONS.
SINCERELY YOURS,
JESSICA MCMANAMAN, MRS.
UK. EMAIL LOTTO CORDINATOR.
NB: DEND DETAILS TO MR. DONALD BENSON EMAIL: donaldbenson1@merseymail.com

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam