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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• 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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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!
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +31615304791 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "INTERNATIONAL PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT" <colaimsprocessmqdeluyh@netscape.net>
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2006 04:57:49 -0700
Subject: YOU HAVE WON



FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR: INTERNATIONAL PRIZE AWARD DEPT
WINNING NOTIFICATION FOR CATEGORY "A" WINNER ONLY

ATTENTION!

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the last final annual draw of
our
LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL Programs. The online cyber lotto draws was conducted
from
an exclusive list of 25,000,000 e-mail addresses of individuals and
corporate institutions,
picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet.
No tickets were sold.

After this automated computer ballot, your e-mail address emerged as a
winner in the category "A" with
the following numbers attached Ref Number: GP 14-M-246-04,Batch Number:
573881545-NL/2005
and Ticket Number: PP 3502 /8707-01.

You are therefore to receive a cash prize of $1,500,000.00. ( One Million
Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars)
from the totalpayout.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Your prize award has been insured with your e-mail address and will be
transferred to you upon meeting
our requirements, statutory obligations, verifications, validations and
satisfactory report. To file in for the
processing of your prize winnings, you are advised to contact our Certified
and Accredited claims agent
for category "A" winners with the information below:
************************************************
Name: Patrick Bowman
Telephone: +31 615 304 791
Email: admin@internationalclaim-center.net

************************************************
You are advice to provide him with the following information:
Names:
Telephone/Fax number:
Nationality:
Age:


NOTE: All winnings must be claimed not later than 14 days;
thereafterunclaimed funds would be included
in the next stake. Remember to quote your reference information in all
correspondence.

You are to keep all lottery information confidential, especially your
reference and ticket numbers.
(This is important as a case of double claim will not be tolerated).
Members of affiliated agencies are
PROHIBITED from participating in this program.

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.

regards,

Walter Jones.
Lottery Coordinator.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam