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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.

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:
  • "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.
  • +447023039003 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "smith " <erocliam2006@rediffmail.com>
Date: 21 Dec 2006 02:36:24 -0000
Subject: My Dear Friend,


NATIONAL LOTTERY HEADQUARTERS:Customer ServiceRef: UK/9420X2/68Batch: 074/05/ZY369&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WINNING NOTIFICATION&nbsp;We happily announce to you the draw of the EURO-AMERICAN-LOTTO Sweepstake Online Lottery International programs held on the (27 of may&nbsp; 2006) in MANCHESTER, UK.Your e-mail address was attached to ticket number:56475600545188 with the Serial number: 5368/02 that drew the lucky numbers: 19-6-26-17-35-7, which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category.&nbsp;You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of US$2,500,000.00 (Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) in cash credited to file EAL/9023118308/03. This is from a total cash prize of US!
$25 Million dollars,shared amongst the first Ten (10) lucky winners in this category. All participants were selected randomly from WorldWide Web sites through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 companies websites. This promotion takesplace annually.
You will be contacted with your US$2,500,000.00 (Two million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars)winning which would be released to you by our payment office shortly.&nbsp;Our oversea agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contacthim. For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims isprocessed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize.&nbsp;This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by someunscrupulous elements. Take note of this important notification.&nbsp;To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent:Mr Mcdonid Terry.Email: mcdonidlegaloffice@yahoo.comTelephone: +447023039003&nbsp;To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please quote your full names, your country, your Telephone or fax number,your reference/batch numbers etc in any !
of your correspondences with our designated agent or this organization.&nbsp;Congratulations once more from all members and staffs of this program.&nbsp;Thank you for being part of our promotional lottery program.&nbsp;Sincerely,&nbsp;Todd&nbsp; Smith.&nbsp;EURO-AMERICAN-LOTTO Co-ordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam