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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

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• 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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "global mega lottery"
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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.
  • +27735748544 (South Africa, 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.
  • globa_mega@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "mega lot" <mega_lot@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 03 May 2006 05:45:47 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS/ WINNING NOTIFICATION


GLOBAL MEGA LOTTERY
UNIVERSAL BUILDING, 132 - 133 PARK HURST
BALFOUR - UNITE 1440
JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG 2001
SOUTH AFRICA
OMEGA CROSSING.


Dear Sir/Madam,

CONGRATULATIONS/ WINNING NOTIFICATION

The Global Mega Lottery Promotion team is proud to inform you the
announcement made in the weekly Promotion winners of the Lottery South
Africa/International Programmed.

Participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from
2,500,000 e-mail addresses. Your email address was one of the individuals
and companies chosen from Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe,
Middle East, and New Zealand as part of our electronic business Promotions
Program.

You/Your Company, attached to ticket number 100-309-7482, with serial number
513-10 drew the lucky numbers 02,09,22,23,24,30,+5 and consequently won in
the Second Category. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out
of US$820,000.00 in cash (Eight hundred and twenty thousand United States
dollars) This is from the total prize money of US$13,650,000.00 shared among
the seven international winners in the Second category.

Your fund is now deposited with the Global Mega Lottery Finance and Company
insured in your name. Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, we ask
that you keep this secretly from public notice until your claim has been
processed and your money remitted to your account.

This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or
unscrupulous acts by participants of this program. We hope with a part of
your prize, you will participate in our mid year (2006) high stakes US$1.3
billion International Lottery. To begin your claim, please contact your
claim agent immediately with the information below: -

Mr. Zuma Adams,
Zonal Co-ordinator
Mega Lottery - SA.
Telephone +27 73 574 8544
E-mail:Globa_Mega@yahoo.com
Office, 23 Wellington Road,
Park town Johannesburg,
South Africa.

NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please
remember to quote your reference and batch numbers provided below in every
one of your correspondences with your claims agent. REFERENCE NUMBER:
FLS-ZR39-825P-4, BATCH NUMBER: 74-263-BBN.

Sincerely,

MR. RICHARD BALOYI.
(The Promotional Manager)

Note: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result
to disqualification. Please do not reply to this mailbox. Contact your
claims agent through his email contact above.

_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam