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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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• 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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "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!

Fraud email example:

From: Claims Agent Brown <claimsagent_petersen@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 01:20:21 +0100 (BST)
Subject: YOUR REPONSE REQUIRES URGENT ATTENTION



UK ONLINE NOTIFICATION DESK.
GOVERNMENT ACCREDITED LICENSED!!!
UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
IS REGISTERED UNDER THE DATA PROTECTION ACT OF;
(Registration Z720633X).

UK National Lottery Headquarters:
Customer Service
PO Box 1010
Liverpool
L70 1NL
Ref No: UK/9420X2/68
Batch No: 074/05/ZY369


9th May, 2007

Dear Winner,

Please note that your winnings will be cancelled if we do not receive any email from you within now and 11 days and it will be noted as disclaim. Thanks for your understanding.

Best Regards,
Mr Petersen Brown (Senior Fiduciary Agent)
© 2007 UK LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam