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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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• 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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",000,000" (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 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.
  • claimoffice.dr@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "GOOGLE LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL" <claimoffice.dr@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 02:11:39 -1200
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE WON A GOOGLE BALLOT LOTTERY ! CONTACT YOUR AGENT.






GOOGLE LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION / PRIZE AWARD .
(WE ENCOURAGE GLOBALIZATION)
FROM: THE LOTTERY COORDINATOR,
GOOGLE B.V. 44 9459 PE.
RESULTS FOR CATEGORY "A" DRAWS
Congratulations to you as we bring to your notice, the
results of the First Category draws of E-MAIL LOTTERY
organised by GOOGLE INTERNATIONAL. We are happy to inform
you that your email address have emerged a winner of One
Million (1,000,000.00) Euros, which is the winning payout
for Category A winners. This is from the total prize money
of Two Million (2,000,000.00) Euro shared among the 2
winners in this category. Participants were selected
through a computer ballot system drawn from 2,500,000 email
addresses of individuals and companies from Africa, America,
Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, and Oceania as part
of our International Promotions Program.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Your fund is now deposited with the paying Bank. In your
best interest to avoid mix up of numbers and names of any
kind, we request that you
keep the entire details of your award strictly from public
notice until the process of transferring your claims has
been completed, and your funds
remitted to your account.
NOTE: To file for your claim, please contact the claim
department below on email and provide him with the below
details for verification.
Full Names:
Contact Address:
State:
City:
Telephone Number:
Sex:
Date Of Birth:
**********************************************
CONTACT PERSON:
MR. DEMIS RITAKIS
EMAIL: claimoffice.dr@gmail.com
CLAIMS OFFICE
TEL:+:+30-694-974-6471
SINTAGMA 41,10435
ATHENS , GREECE.
**********************************************
Find below your promotion date, Reference and Batch
numbers. Remember to quote these numbers in your
correspondence with your claims agent.
PROMOTION DATE: 25TH OF JULY 2007. REFERENCE NUMBER:
GLLINT/07/04/768970118. BATCH NUMBER: 78/09/230
Congratulations once again from all our staff and thank you
for being part of our promotions program.
Sincerely Yours,
MRS.DEBORAH SMITH.
THE PROMOTION COORDINATOR.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam