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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!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• 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:
  • "hundred thousand united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
• 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.
  • +27721484814 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: Brian Modise <brian.modise@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 05:38:44 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Claims


Dear Winner,

Congratulations on your winnings and be advised that you will be required to furnish this office with the following informations:

- E-mail ID
- Full names
- Contact address
- Contact telephone and fax number
- Date of birth
- Sex

for immediate verification and Validation of your claim.

After the verification,Ppayment Approval will be granted on your behalf for your Prize Claim of USD$1.4M (One Million, Four Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).

After the payment approval, you will be contacted with options on how your Winnings will be Paid to you.

Congratulations once again.

Brian Z. Modise
+2772 148 4814



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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam