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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
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• 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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "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.
  • +447031891410 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • james_randy101@hotmail.com

Fraud email example:

From: "UK MICROSOFT LOTTERY PROMOTION 2006 ," <adamwilliams3@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:30:42 +0000
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION FROM MICROSOFT MEGA LOTTERY U.K.

MICROSOFT MEGA LOTTERY U.K.                                      REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L BATCH: 4583JL/WIN  MICROSOFT EMAIL LOTTERY AWARD PROMOTION: UNITED KINGDOM   Finally today, we announce the winners of the MICROSOFT MEGA LOTTO WINNINGS PROGRAMS held on, December 10th 2006. Your company or your personal e-mail address, attached to winning number 23-76-06-54-42-100, With serial number 647489, consequently won in the Tenth lottery category.   You have been approved for lump sums pay out of 2,000,000.00 Pounds sterling in cash Credited to file REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L and winning number 23-76-06-54-42-100. Selection process was carried out through random selection in our computerized email selection machine (TOPAZ) from a database of over 1,000,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world. The online draws was conducted by a random selection of email addresses from an exclusive list of 29,031 E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet. No ticket were sold but all email addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and privacy. This is to encourage our prominent Microsoft Internet Explorer users all over the world, and for the  Continues use of E-mail.   Your fund (Certified Cashiers Cheque) has been insured with your REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L and winning number 23-76-06-54-42-100. To claim your winning prize, you must first contact the claims Agent by email for Processing and remittance of your prize to you.       Mr.James Randy Claims Agent U.K. Email: james_randy101@hotmail.com Phone: +447031891410 0r +447011131027 Fax: +447005947183   Do email the above email address all at once. In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your reference and winning numbers in all correspondences with your claims officer. You are to keep all lotto information away from the general public especially your ticket number and ballot number. (This is important as a case of double claims will not be entertained) PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU ARE TO SEND THE BELOW INFORMATION REQUIRED TO CLAIM YOUR WINNING PRIZE: 1.Full Name:.............................................................. 2.Address:................................................................. 3.Nationality:............................................................. 4.Age:.........................Date of Birth:............................. 5.Occupation:............................................................. 6.Home Tel:...........Mobile Tel:................Fax:................. 7.State of Origin:......................Country:........................ 8.And a Scanned copy of you passport   Sincerely, Mrs. Maurrine H. Diane Secretary                                                                                                                                    Adam Williams                                                                 Mrs.Maurrine                      Online Co-ordinator                                                 Secretary                                                                                    LOTTERY SPONSOR                                                      Microsoft Corporation U.K.                                                     ____________________________________________________________________________________                                                                   Note; Do not reply this mail, you are to contact your claims officer immediately by email. Microsoft Electronic Mail Lottery is approved and Licensed by the The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam