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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:
  • "clearance certificate" (this will cost you money - that's what the scam is about)
  • "fiduciary 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 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.
  • premiumagencies@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: helemes jdeeiiwwsa <helemes@helemes.orangehome.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 16:40:50 +0100 (CET)
Subject: European Award Winning Prize.


European Award Winning Prize.
Euro Millones Lottery Board
CALLE ANGEL MARIO 23
P.C 28003 Madrid-Spain.
Dear winner,
We wish to inform you that you have been approved as one of the lucky winner winners in the Euro Millones Lottery International Email Address draw on the 23rd of November, 2006. All 5 winning addresses were randomly selected from a batch of 50,000,000 international email addresses. Your email address emerged alongside 4 others as a category 2 winner in the Euro Millones Lottery Draw.
Most recently this foundation set up the NEW LOTTERY SCHEME to give out prizes based on COMPUTER BALLOT SYSTEM. By doing this the foundation seek to encourage the use of Internet for academic and business pursuits.
Your email ID identified with Coupon No. EEPP/001324625 and was selected by our E-games Random Selection System (ERSS) with entries from the 50,000,000 different email addresses enrolled for the E-game. Your email ID was included among the 50,000,000 different email addresses submitted by our partner international email provider companies.
You have won a consolation cash prize of US$987,000:00 ( Nine Hundred and Eighty Seven Thousand United States Dollars Only). The EUROPEAN EMAIL PROMOTION PROGRAM Group have approved a payout of your consolation cash prize which will be remunerated directly to you by the official Payment Agency Board.
We wish to congratulate you over your email success in our computer balloting sweepstake23rd of November. This is a Millennium Scientific Computer Game in which email addresses were used. It is a promotional program aimed at encouraging internet users; therefore you do not need to buy ticket to enter for it. You have been approving for the star prize of US $987:000:00 (Nine Hundred And Eighty Seven Thousand United State Dollars Only).
Batch No:LF/53/849/HU
Ticket No:UW/83/02/ED
Lucky No: 52/658/95/AS
Ref No: RJT/7438/LR
Serial No: TM/YR38J/DA
To claim your winning prize you are to contact the appointed agent as soon as possible for the immediate release of your winnings:
MR ROLLAND BEN.
PREMIUM AGENCIES
P.C.28102 MADRID-SPAIN.
E-mail: premiumagencies@aim.com
The appointed agent will be required to Notarize all your award winning documents in the Madrid Municipal Court and also obtain Approval Legal Clearance Certificate from the Court here in Spain which is in accordance with the European Union Lottery Act 2002 on payment of International Lottery Winners. Be inform that the PAYING BANK will Effect Payment Swiftly upon satisfactory Report, Verifications and validation provided by this fiduciary agent.
Once again congratulations!!!.
Best Regards,
Elina Raynes(Mrs.).
(Group Coordinator)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam