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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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• 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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "into your nominated bank account" (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.
  • +862033889855 (China, probably a mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Desmond Duke" <dedukxs@myway.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 22:12:21 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: CLAIMS NOTIFICATION


Dear Winner, We wish to congratulate you and formally inform you that you have won the sum of $0.8m in the last email-lottery draw,organized by the Heritage email Lotto Promotion.Your winning has been confirmed. You should note that your email address in addition to millions of companies and individuals emails were extracted with a software and the addresses were scrutinized with a ballot system and after the process,15 email addresses were selected and they were shared into 3 categories respectively and you are a winner in the 2nd category of $0.8m.The said sum is now deposited in our suspense account in your favour waiting for the immediate remittance into your nominated bank account. You are therefore required to send the following information to enable the processing of your award certificate and also submit them to the payee bank for the award prize payment. The information you have to send are written below: 1. Full name2. Contact phone and fax number3. Contact
address4. Age5. Marital status6. Occupation7. Sex8. Nationality9.A copy of your International passport or Driver's license Please send these as soon as possible to enable us effect your payment,and also note that anyone below eighteen years is automatically disqualified from receiving this prize. I await your response. Regards,Desmond Duke,National Trustee FinanceGuangzhou,China.Tel:+86 20 33 88 98 55

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam