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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:
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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "micro lottery international"
• 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.
  • +31633759154 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • microlottagency@netscape.net (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "microlottintl" <microlottintl@netscape.net>
Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2006 15:54:05 -0200
Subject: winnings


MICRO LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
VIJZELSTRAAT 56, 1017 HD,
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS.
FILE REFERENCE NO:CH2005-001-MLI.
BATCH: 1505/004NL.

To: Winners In Our Program.

We wish to congratulate you on your success in our computer balloting
sweepstake held on 11th March, 2006.
This is a millennium scientific computer game in which email addresses
are used randomly. It is a promotional program aimed at encouraging
internet
usage; therefore you do not need to buy ticket to enter for it.
This is to inform you that your email address was attached to ticket number
10CBG3471913; with
serial number 19034 which drew the lucky numbers 1-9-74-31, which
eventually
won the lottery in the first category of the draws. You are therefore
entitled to a
cash prize of US$ 2, 500,000.00 (Two Million Five Hundred Thousand US
Dollars only),from a total prize money of US$30,000,000.00
distributed to winners from 1st to 3rd categories. Please be advised that
this program is largely promoted and sponsored by
philanthropist and industrialists from the internet ware industry and some
multinational firms who wish to remain anonymous
To begin your claim, please contact the claims coordinator below

Dr. Ralph Hoffman
email: microlottagency@netscape.net
Tel: +31- 633 759 154
Fax: +31- 847 141 714

Best Regards
Mrs. Deboer
For: Micro Lottery Int'l

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam