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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!
  
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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:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash)
• 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: "FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES" <freelottooffice@zwallet.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: FREELOTTOCLAIMAG@NETSCAPE.COM
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:35:35 +0200
Subject: SUB : FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM

FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES
P.O BOX 4562,
GRAND CENTRAL STATION,
NEW YORK, NY 10163.
UNITED STATE OF AMERICA.
REF: LSUK/2031/8161/05 BATCH: R3/A312-59
WINNING NOTIFICATION
WE ANNOUNCE TO YOU THE DRAW (#999) HELD ON WED, 15TH FEB 2006.
YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS ATTACHED TO TICKETNUMBER: 56475600545 188 WITH SERIAL NUMBER 5368/02 DREW THE LUCKY NUMBERS: 04,29,39,41,43,45,42. THIS SUBSEQUENTLY WON YOU THE MATCH 5 PLUS BONUS.
YOU HAVE THEREFORE BEEN APPROVED TO CLAIM A TOTAL SUM OF USD$10,000,000.00 (TEN MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLARS) IN CASH CREDITED TO FILE NO: KTU/9023118308/03.
ALL PARTICIPANTS FOR THE ONLINE VERSION WERE SELECTED RANDOMLY FROM THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW) THROUGH A COMPUTER DRAW SYSTEM AND EXTRACTED FROM OVER 100,000 UNIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, INDIVIDUALS AND CORPORATE BODIES EMAIL ADDRESSES THAT ARE LISTED ONLINE.
THIS PROMOTION TAKES PLACE QUATERLY. IN VIEW OF THESE, YOUR USD$10,000,000.00 WOULD BE RELEASED TO YOU BY ANY OF OUR PAYMENT
OFFICE .
TO APPLY FOR YOUR CLAIM, PLEASE CONTACT OUR ONLINE CLAIM AGENT BELOW:-
MR. SCOTT ELLIS.
FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES
P.O BOX 4562,GRAND CENTRAL STATION,
NEW YORK, NY 10163.UNITED STATE OF AMERICA.
E-MAIL : FREELOTTOCLAIMAG@NETSCAPE.COM </ym/Compose?To=FREELOTTOCLAIMAG@NETSCAPE.COM>
ENDEAVOUR TO PROVIDE HIM WITH THE INFORMATION(S) BELOW:
1. NAME:
2. ADDRESS:
3. MARITAL STATUS:
4. OCCUPATION:
5. AGE:
6. SEX:
7. NATIONALITY:
9. TEL :
10: FAX NO:
11: DRAW NUMBER ABOVE:
THAT WAY YOUR WINNINGS CERTIFICATE AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS /PAPERWORK CAN BE PREPARED FOR YOU.
YOU WOULD BE REQUIRED TO SHOW A PROVE OF IDENTIFICATION WHEN CASHING YOUR CHEQUE I.E. DRIVERS LICENSE OR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORTS FOR SECURITY REASONS,
YOU ARE ADVISED TO KEEP YOUR WINNING INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL UNTILL YOUR CLAIMS IS PROCESSED AND RELEASE.
THIS IS PART OF OUR PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE TO AVOID DOUBLE CLAIMING AND UNWARRANTED ABUSE OF THIS PROGRAM.
PLEASE BE WARNED AND TREAT AS URGENT.
CONGRATULATIONS IN ADVANCE!!!
SIR. JONES DUTCHER
ONLINE CO-ORDINATOR
FOR FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM

COPYRIGHT 1994-2006 FREE LOTTO,PLASMANET INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. TERMS OF SERVICE - GUIDELINE.
PROTECTED BY U.S. PATENT NO. 6,454,650
MR. SCOTT ELLIS.
FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES
P.O BOX 4562,GRAND CENTRAL STATION,
NEW YORK, NY 10163.UNITED STATE OF AMERICA.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam