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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

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

• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "20 craven park, harlesden"
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash)
• 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: "Claim Center" <lotteryclaimcenter@latinmail.com>
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 18:45:04 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION!!!


MICROSOFT AWARD TEAM
20 CRAVEN PARK, HARLESDEN
LONDON NW10
UNITED KINGDOM
REF: BTD/968/05
BATCH: 409978E
DEAR SIR/MADAM,
WINNING
NOTIFICATION
THE PRESTIGIOUS MICRSOFT AND AOL HAS SET OUT AND
SUCESSFULLY ORGANISED A SWEEPSTAKES MARKING THE
MIDDLE OF YEAR ANNIVERSARY, WE ROLLED OUT OVER
£500,000.00 (FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND BRITISH POUNDS)
FOR OUR BEGINING OF YEAR ANNIVERSARY DRAWS.
PARTICIPANTS FOR THE DRAWS WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED
AND DRAWN FROM A WIDE RANGE OF WEB HOSTS WHICH WE
ENJOY THEIR PATRONAGE. THE SELECTION WAS MADE
THROUGH A COMPUTER DRAW SYSTEM ATTACHING
PERSONALISED EMAIL ADDRESSES TO TICKET NUMBERS. BILL
GATES IS SHARING HIS FORTUNE. IF YOU IGNORE THIS,
YOU WILL REGRET IT LATER. MICROSOFT AND AOL ARE NOW
THE LARGEST INTERNET COMPANIES AND IN AN EFFORT TO
MAKE SURE THAT INTERNET EXPLORER REMAINS THE MOST
WIDELY USED PROGRAM, MICROSOFT AND AOL ARE RUNNING
AN E-MAIL BETA TEST.

YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS AS INDICATED WAS DRAWN AND
ATTACHED TO TICKET NUMBER 008795727498 WITH SERIAL
NUMBERS BTD/9080648302/06 AND DREW THE LUCKY NUMBERS
14-21-25-39-40-47(20) WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY WON YOU
£100,000.00 (ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND GREAT BRITAIN
POUNDS) ALREADY ISSUED IN A CHEQUE AS ONE OF THE 10
JACKPOT WINNERS IN THIS DRAW. YOU HAVE THEREFORE WON
THE ENTIRE WINNING SUM OF £100,000.00 (ONE HUNDRED
THOUSAND GREAT BRITAIN POUNDS). THE DRAWS REGISTERED
AS DRAW NUMBER ONE WAS CONDUCTED IN BROCKLEY, LONDON
UNITED KINGDOM ON THE 21ST OF JULY 2006. THESE DRAWS
ARE COMMEMORATIVE AND AS SUCH SPECIAL.
PLEASE BE INFORMED BY THIS WINNING NOTIFICATION,TO
CLAIM YOUR WINNING CHEQUE,YOU ARE TO MAKE CONTACT
WITH YOUR DESIGNATED AGENT WHO SHALL BY DUTY GUIDE
YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS TO FACILITATE THE RELEASE OF
YOUR WINNING CHEQUE.TO FILE FOR YOUR CLAIM PLEASE
CONTACT YOUR FIDUCIARY AGENT,

DR DAVE HOUSTON,
MICROSOFT PROMOTION AWARD TEAM
EMAIL:OFFSHORRECUSTOMERCARE@MSN.COM

YOU ARE ADVISED TO CONTACT YOUR FIDUCIARY AGENT
WITH THE FOLLOWING DETAILS TO AVOID UNNECESSARY
DELAYS AND COMPLICATIONS WITH YOUR NAME (IN FULL),
COUNTRY, TICKET NUMBER, BATCH NUMBER, SERIAL
NUMBER AND LUCKY NUMBERS AS INDICATED IN THIS
WINNING NOTIFICATION.
THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THIS PROMOTIONAL AWARD
PROGRAM.
OUR SPECIAL THANKS AND GRATITUDE TO BILL GATES AND
HIS ASSOCIATES.WE WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK AS YOU
SPEND YOUR GOOD FORTUNE.THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF
OUR COMMEMORATIVE END OF YEAR ANNIVERSARY DRAWS.

SINCERELY,
DR. BRYAN MCDONALD
MICROSOFT PROMOTION TEAM

NB:
PLEASE NOTE! ANY CLAIM NOT MADE BEFORE TWENTY ONE
(21) WORKING DAYS FROM DATE OF NOTIFICATION WILL
INDICATE THAT THE WINNER HAS VOLUNTARILY FORFEITED
HIS/HER WINNINGS.


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam