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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:
  • "million united states dollars" (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)
  • "waiting for your urgent response" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• 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.
  • +27833120625 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: re1zuma@yahoo.ca
Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 12:54:31 +0200
Subject: URGENT ASSISTANCE

FROM MRS REBECCA .A. ZUMA,
NO 14 HUMPSHIRE DRIVE
JOHANNESBURG SOUTH AFRICA

CRY FOR HELP
ATTE:DIRECTOR/CEO,

My name is Mrs. Rebecca Zuma the wife of DONALD .A. ZUMA fromZimbabwe.This might be a surprise to you about where I got your contact address, I got your address from the South African Chamber of Commerce when I was desperately looking for a trust-worthy person to assist my son who is currently residing in south Africa,

so I decided to contact you. During the current war against the farmers in Zimbabwe from the supports of our President Robert Mugabe to claim all the white-owned farms to his party members and his followers, he ordered all the white farmers to surrender their farms to his party members. My husband was one of the best farmer in our country and because he did not support Mugabe’s ideas, Mugabe’s supports invaded my husband farm and burnt everything in the farm, killing my husband and made away with a lot of items in my husband farm. Before his death, my husband had deposited with one of the Security Company in Johannesburg, South Africa the sum of (US$14 Million Fourteen Million United States Dollars). After the death of my husband, my son{Donald Jr} decided to move out of my country to Republic of South Africa where he had deposited the money with the Security Company as valuables.

Please why I am contacting you is to assist my son to move this money out of South Africa because as asylum seekers he is not allowed to operate any Bank or invest within in the country. We have agreed to offer you 20% of the total sum for your assistance, 5% will be out for any expenses that may be incurred in the course of this transaction while 75% will be for me and my family which I believe that with your help we will invest it in your country.

All I want you to do is to furnish me with your private phone and fax numbers for easy communication. You can contact my son with the above number for more details contact my son {Donald Jr} on:+27-83-3120-625

Waiting for your urgent response.
Best regard to your family.
MRS REBECCA ZUMA,

PLEASE YOU CAN READ ABOUT PROBLEMS IN ZIMBABWE AND HOW MY FATHER DIED, FROM THE LINKS BELOW.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/918781.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/715001.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1063785.stm

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam