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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:
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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:

• 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!
• 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.
  • +447040129795 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "UK FUN LOTTO DRAWS" <garethedward3rddraws1@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 05:16:07 +0100
Subject: THIRD CATEGORY NOTIFICATION

UK FUN LOTTO
47 COLD HARBOUR
LONDON, E14 9NS
UNITED KINGDOM

Dear Winner,

We are pleased to announce you as one of the 3 lucky winners in the UK FUN
LOTTO draw held on the 8th of July 2006. All 3 winning addresses were
randomly selected from a batch of 5,000,000 international emails. Your email
address emerged alongside 2 others as a 3rd category winner in this month's
draw.

Consequently,you have therefore been approved for a total pay out of
£2,000,000 Pounds (Two million pounds) only.The following particulars are
attached to your lotto payment order:

(i) Winning numbers: 5, 24, 38, 11, 46,37
(ii) Serial number: 16-7-204
(iii) Lotto batch number: FL-216
(iv) Reference number: SBF-404-2

Please contact the underlisted claims officer as soon as possible for the
immediate release of your winnings:

Mr.Tony Smith
Claims Department Manager
BLUE SKY SECURITIES
Email: claimsmanager@blueskysecuritiesuk.net
Tel: +44 7040129795
Fax: +44 7030404166

Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your Winning
information confidential until your claim have been processed. This is part
of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of
this program by some participant.

Once again on behalf of all our staff, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Sincerely,

Mr.Gareth Edwards
Promotions Manager

N.B:
1.All claims are nullified after 10 working days from today.
2.Your Ref number must be in all your mails with the claims officer.
3.Do inform the claims officer of any change of names or addresses.
4.All winners under the age of 18 are automatically disqualified.
5.Please contact your claims agent by fax or email (Mr Tony Smith).

_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam