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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:
  • "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!

Fraud email example:

From: philip smith <lotto_claimsagent1988@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2006 20:36:03 +0100 (BST)
Subject: VERIFICATION IN PROGRESS




UK - LOTTO ACCREDITED CLAIMS AGENT
CUSTOMER SERVICE



REF NUMBER: LSUK/653/029/03/SA
BATCH NUMBER: AT-040-SB06


Dear Winner,

This is to acknowledge receipt of your data and to inform you that the verification department will commence verification of your particulars.

Once this is done, we will be sending you the contact information on how you will proceed with effecting the release of your Winnings Prize, to view more testimonies about the national lottery click on the link below;

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15798589&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=eur--pound-77m-richer--name_page.html


Congratulations,

Regards.

MR. PHILIP SMITH
CLAIMS AGENT
UK LOTTERY CLAIM DEPT.



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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam