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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "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.
  • +31644961326 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • enquiries7@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: BELKIN AID INTERNATIONAL PRIZE AWARD DEPT <belkin@belkin.nl>
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 19:45:47 +0200
Subject: Contact Mr Pablo Ventura

FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR: BELKIN AID INTERNATIONAL PRIZE AWARD DEPT
WINNING NOTIFICATION FOR CATEGORY "A" WINNER ONLY

ATTENTION!


We are pleased to inform you of the result of the last final annual draw of our GRANT INTERNATIONAL
Programs. The online cyber GRANT draws was conducted from an exclusive list of 25,000,000 e-mail
addresses of individuals and corporate institutions,picked by an advanced automated random computer
search from the internet. No tickets were sold.

After this automated computer ballot, your e-mail address emerged as a winner in the category "A" with
the following numbers attached Qualification Number: (NL-7721-02 BLKN-060)

You are therefore to receive a cash prize of 1,500,000.00. (One Million Five Hundred Thousand
Euros)from the total payout.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Your prize award has been insured with your e-mail address and will be transferred to you upon meeting
our requirements, statutory obligations, verifications, validations and satisfactory report. To file in for the
processing of your prize winnings, you are advised to contact our Certified and Accredited claims agent
for category "A" winners with the information below:
********************************************************************************************
Name: Pablo Ventura
Email: enquiries7@aim.com
Tel : +31 644961326
Fax: +31 847593188
********************************************************************************************
You are advised to provide him with the following information:

1. Given Name (As Stated in your ID)
2. Telephone/Fax number:
3. Nationality:
4. Age:

NOTE: All winnings must be claimed not later than 14 days; thereafter unclaimed funds would be
included in the next stake. Remember to quote your reference information in all correspondence.

You are to keep all Grant information confidential, especially your reference and ticket numbers. (This is
important as a case of double claim will not be tolerated).
Members of affiliated agencies are PROHIBITED from participating in this program.
Furthermore, should there be any change of address, do inform our agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being part of our
Promotional Program.

regards,

Mrs.Deborah Jones
Grant Coordinator.
Belkin Aid,
Amsterdam,Netherlands.

***This email may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
The information is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the
intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents is
prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please notify the sender by
telephone or return email and delete the material from your computer.***

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam