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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

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 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!
• 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.
  • directoroffinance47@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Bernard Philips <internationalbritish_lotteryco@cybersist.com>
Reply-To: "internationalbritish_lotteryco@cybersist.com" <internationalbritish_lotteryco@cybersist.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 21:53:09 -0700
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS




BRITISH&nbsp;LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL 2006&nbsp;CUSTOMER SERVICEBritish Lottery InternationalHeadquarters: 60 Merriman Road
Blackheath London SE3 8RZ
England.Ref. Number: BTL/491OXI/04
Batch Number: 12/25/0304
Ticket Number: 564 75600545-188
Serial Number: 5388/02
&nbsp;
Dear Sir/Madam,
&nbsp;
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Winners in our British International Lottery Program held on the 5th of November, 2005. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 564 75600545-188 with serial number 5388/02 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-31-45, which consequently won in the 2ND category.
You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out&nbsp; of&nbsp; &pound;1,000,000&nbsp;(ONE MILLION Great Britian Pounds Sterling)&nbsp;CONGRATULATIONS.Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims have been fully processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid multiple claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants. All participants were selected through a computer ballot&nbsp; system drawn from over 20,000 company and 30,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This promotional program takes place every five years.
&nbsp;
This lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies in Europe as part of their social responsibility to&nbsp; the citizens. This year Lottery Program Jackpot is the largest ever for British Lottery. The estimated &pound;100 million jackpot would be the sixth biggest in U.K. history. The biggest was the &pound;263 million jackpot that went to two winners in&nbsp; May 2000 drawing of The Big Game, Mega Millions\' predecessor. To file for your claim, please contact our director of finance.Dr. BERNARD PHILIPS
Email:&nbsp;directoroffinance47@yahoo.co.uk
&nbsp;
Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, 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.
&nbsp;

You must be 16 or over to play or claim a prize
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. Rick Guy
British Lottery International (co-coordinator)
N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to disqualification. Please do not reply to this mail. Contact our director of finance

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam