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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• 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:
  • "claim 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!

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs. Florence Walter" <mrsflorencewalter01@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:45:49 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTERY UNITED KINGDOM.


From:MicroSoft Email Award Promo,
UK Roger Needham Building
7 JJ Thomson Ave
Cambridge CB3 0FB
UNITED KINGDOM.

Hello Rainer Nageller,

I received your email and I understood quite well that you are skeptical about your winnings due to the increasing rate of internet scam but I would want you to know that this is legitimate and we even warn you to beware of scam artists.

You have to complete and return the forms underneath your winning notification for proper identification and record keeping.

When you have done that I would then let you know the next step to claim your prize.

Congratulations once again and do have a nice day.

Regards
Claims Processor
MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT CLAIM AGENT.
Mrs.Florence Walter






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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam