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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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• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "hundred thousand 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)
• 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.
  • +31616097118 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: " Mrs. Sandra Hoffman" <coordvikingline@aol.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 05 Nov 2006 01:16:28 +0100
Subject: VINKING ONLINE LOTTREY!!! WINNING INFORMATIONS

FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL PRIZE AWARD DEPT WINNING INFORMATIONS: Ref. No: JM 9590 AD 9414 Batch No: 99881545-NL/2006 Number: FP 3502 /8754-01 We happily inform you of the result of the last final annual draw of our Lottery International Programs. The online cyber lotto draws was conducted from an exclusive list of 25,000,000 e-mail addresses of individual and corporate bodies 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 above numbers attached. You are therefore to receive a cash prize of $900,000.00.( Nine Hundred Thousand United States Dollars)from the total payout. contact our Fiduciary Agent for category "A" winners with the information below for VALIDATION. ************************************* Mr. kelvin willams E-mail: kelvwillams@aol.co.uk Phone: +31 616097118 Fax: +31- 847 -548-673. ************************************* 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. 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. Yours faithfully, Sandra hoffman Online Lottery Coordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam