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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.
• 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.
  • +31644749864 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • microsoftclaim07@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: weng@wengbianca.orangehome.co.uk
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2007 18:32:15 +0100 (CET)
Subject: YOUR EMAIL HAS WON!!! CONTACT CLAIM OFFICE


YOUR EMAIL HAS WON!!! CONTACT CLAIM OFFICE
REFERENCE NUMBER: LSLUK/2031/8161/04
BATCH NUMBER: 14/011/IPD
RESULT FOR CATEGORY A
Dear Winner,
We are happy to inform you that you have emerged a winner under the First Category, which is part of our promotional draws. The draws are
being officially announced today 3rd of January, 2006.You have therefore been awarded alump sum pay out of 1,000,000(One Million Euros), which is
the winning payout for Category A winners.
NOTE: For easy reference and identification,find below your Reference and Batch numbers. Remember to quote these
numbers in yourcorrespondence with your claims Department.
REFERENCE NUMBER: LSLUK/2031/8161/04
BATCH NUMBER: 14/011/IPD
Please contact microsoftclaim department immediately for due processing and remittance of your prize money to a designated account of your
choice:
*************************************************************************************************
************
Dr Peter Hans
Tel.:+31-644749864
Fax: 0031- 847103194.
Email: microsoftclaim07@aim.com

*************************************************************************************************
Sincerely Yours,
Mrs Betty Rice
PROMOTION CORDINATOR
N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to disqualification. Contact your claim department immediately.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam