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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
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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)
  • "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 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.
  • petermartinscham@netscape.net (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "MRS MARIA DANIELS" <MARIADANIELS@SWIZZ.ORG>
Reply-To: PETERMARTINSCHAM@NETSCAPE.NET
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 11:40:58 +0100
Subject: MRS MARIA DANIELS (URGENT MESSAGE)

Ref. Number: 132/756/4509
Batch Number: 538901527-Bc68
Ticket Number: 27522465896-6453

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Winners in our
International Lottery Program held on the 4th of May, 2006.Your
E-mail address attached to ticket number 27522465896-6453 with serial
number 3772-554 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-31-45 which consequently won in the
2NDcategory, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of 2,000,000
EUROS (Two Million Euro).
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 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.
This lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerated of some
multinational companies in Europe as part of their social
responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have
operational base. We hope with part of your winnings you will take part in our next year Ten million Euros international lottery.
To file for your claim, please contact our fiducial agent/Clearing
House:

Name: MR PETER MARTINS
Reply Email: PETERMARTINSCHAM@NETSCAPE.NET <javascript:parent.ComposeTo('PETERMARTINSCHAM@NETSCAPE.NET');>

Remember all winning must be claimed not later than 9th June 2006
After this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next
stake. 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.
Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.

Yours Sincerely,
Mrs Maria Daniels
International Lottery (co-ordinator)

N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will
result to disqualification. Please do not reply to this mail. Contact
your
claims agent.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam