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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.

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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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
• 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.
  • cusservicesbanks@aim.com

Fraud email example:

From: "Japan Lottery System Inc." <japanlottery@mxs.de>
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 13:03:09 +0400
Subject: Re: Congratulations.

Japan Lottery System Inc. 2-5-7 Kyobashi Chuo-Ku Tokyo 104-0031, Japan. Dear Sir/Madam, CONGRATULATIONS: YOU WON $1,000,000.00. With great joy we wish to inform you of the result of Japan Lottery System, which was held on the 11th, July 2006. Your e-mail address attached to prize winning number: 9 0 9 16 28 28, and supplementary number: 07 19 drew a prize of $1,000,000.00 (One Million USDollars). This lucky draw came first in the 3rd Category of the Sweepstake. You will receive the sum of $1,000,000.00 (One Million USDollars) from our authorized paying bank in Netherlands. Because of some mix-up with our sweepstake numbers and prizes, plus the time limited placed on the payment/transfer of your prize: $1,000,000.00 to you, we advice that you keep all information about this prize confidential until your funds: $1,000,000.00 have been transferred to you by the authorized bank in The Netherlands. You must adhere to this instruction, strictly, to avoid any delay with the release of your funds to your person. This program has been abused severally in past, so we are doing our best to forestall further occurrence of past mix-ups. This sweepstake was conducted under the watchful eyes of 18,000 spectators. Your e-mail address attached to prize winning number: 9 0 9 16 28 28 was selected and; it came first through an e-ballot draw from over 250,000 e-mail addresses (personal and corporate e-mail addresses). This program is sponsored by Japan Lottery Board to compensate faithful internet suffers around the globe. Congratulations for becoming one of the few lucky winners. With your permission, your e-mail will also be included in the next sweepstake of $15Million. You must claim your prize: $1,000,000.00 not later than 10-days from the moment you receive this e-mail. In order to avoid unnecessary delays with your claim from our authorized bank; please contact them immediately, and quote your winning and personal information now. Here is their contact information: Bank: Laagste Heypotheekofferte Bank NL. Bank Manager: Mr. Jefferson Lamberti. Director: Public Finance, Global Markets, Interest Rate and Currency. Direct-line: Tel: 0031 616 293 431. Fax: 0031 847 134 206 . E-mail address: cusservicesbanks@aim.com Furnish them with the following: (i). your name(s), (ii) Your telephone and fax numbers (iii) Your contact address (iv) Your winning information (including amount won). Congratulations. Yours sincerely, Ho G. Hata General Manager.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam