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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
• 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: JOSEPH DUKE <josef1011duk@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 08:22:49 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Claim procedure.


>From the desk of:
Mr.Joseph Duke
Claims Manager,
International Promotion/Prize
Award Department.
TEL;+27838579649


This is to inform you the procedure for your cash prize claim. All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from over 20,000 company and 30,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This promotional program takes place every five years.
This lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies in the South Africa as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have operational base.
Be informed that we are making arrangement to see that we pay your money to you, and we have to also make booking and also arrange with the bank here in South Africa to transfer your money to you . This will take us between 3-4 working days.You are therefore required to reconfirm the following details without delay:

1. YOUR FULL NAME
2. YOUR WINNING REF NUMBER
3. YOUR BATCH NUMBER
4. YOUR WINNING NUMBERS
5. AMOUNT WON
6. YOUR COMPANY NAME/OCCUPATION ( IF ANY)
7. YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS:
8. YOUR CITY
9. YOUR STATE/PROVINCE.
10. YOUR COUNTRY
11. YOUR TELEPHONE /.FAX
12. YOUR DATE OF BIRTH
13. YOUR SEX
14. YOUR MARRITAL STATUS
15. YOUR PASSPORT NUMBER
16. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF YOURSELF

You have to provide these information urgently to enable us begin to process your file for your payment. You can also call us for further clarifications.
Congratulations once again.

Sincere regards,
Mr.Joseph Duke


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam