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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

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.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

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:

Fraud email example:

From: "AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY" <australianlotto_007@rediffmail.com>
Date: 7 Jul 2007 12:53:48 -0000
Subject: YOU HAVE WON THE SUM OF 450,000.00USD(CONTACT YOUR AGENT NOW FOR CLAIMS)


FROM:THE DESK OF THE VICE PRESIDENT INTERNATIONALPROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARDS DEPARTMENT AUSTRALIANINTERNATIONAL SWEEPSTAKE LOTTERY COPORATION;Date:6/07/2007&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;Ref: 575061Batch:8056490902188&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Winning Numbers&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 13&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 26&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 34&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 44&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 48&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; AWARD NOTIFICATION:FINAL NOTICEAttn: Winner,We are pleased to inform you of t
he lotteryresult winners of Australian International LotteryProgrammes held on the 6th of JULY 2007 from theAustralian International Lottery programme. Which isfully based on an electronic selection of winnersusing their e-mail addresses.Your name was attached toticket number;&nbsp; 6750617259356460902 Serial Number67749137002 . This batch draws the lucky numbers asfollows bonus number 14, which consequently won thelottery in the second category. You are here by havebeen approved a lump sum pay of US$450,000.00 (FOURHUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS) in cash creditfile ref:ILP/HW 575061/04 from the total cash prize sharedamongst ten lucky winners in this category.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; YOU ARE A WINNER!!!!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Due to mix up of some numbers and names, you areadvised to keep your winning information confidentialuntil yo
ur claims has been processed and your moneyremitted to your nominated bank. This is part of oursecurity protocol to avoid double claims andunwarranted abuse of this programme by someparticipants. All participants where selected througha computer/mail balloting system drawn from Ninehundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada,Australia, United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East,Africa and Oceania as part of our internationalpromotions program which is conducted annually.This Lottery was promoted and sponsored by aconglomorate of some multinational companies and alsothe Australian Government as part of their socialresponsibility to the citizens in the commmunitieswhere they have operational base. Further more yourdetails (e-mail address) falls within our Europeanrepresentative office in London, United Kingdon, asindicated in your play coupon and your prize ofUS$450,000.00 will be released to you from ourregional branch office in NIGERIA. We hope with partof your prize, you will participate in our nextyear\"s
high stakers for US$2.3 Million internationaldraw.&nbsp;HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE: Simply contact our claimsagent, MR JOE BROWNagent_brown_007@yahoo.com,&nbsp;To file for your claim . Please quote your Date ofdraw,Reference Number, Batch Number and WinningNumber, which can be found on the top-left corner ofthis message. Also, you should give in your telephonenumber to help locate your file easily. For securityreasons, we advice all winners to keep thisinformation confidential from the public until yourclaim is processed and your prize has been released toyou and also to the public. This is part of oursecurity protocol to avoid double claiming andunwarranted taking advantage of this programme bynon-participant or unofficial personnel.&nbsp;Note: All winnings MUST be claimed before the 30thof JULY 2007, otherwise all funds will be forfited.Congratulations once again on your winning!&nbsp;BEST REGARDSMR JOHN STEVE(VICE PRESIDENT )&nbsp;PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. CONTACT OURCLAIMS AGENT AT :&nbsp; agent_
brown_007@yahoo.com.ANY BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY ON THE PART OF WINNERSWILL RESULT TO DISQUALIFICATION&nbsp;

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