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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "certified bank draft" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
• 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.
  • paymentdevision@k.ro (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Australia Lotto Lottery <australia2007jackpot24@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2007 17:15:48 +0100
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!! YOUR EMAIL ID HAS WON $400,000.00 IN ELECTRONIC
MAIL WINNING.



AUSTRALIA INTERNATIONAL LOTTO LOTTERY INC.ELECTRONIC MAIL WINNING AWARD PRESENTATION CENTER: AUSTRALIA.
WINNER NO: 5Date: 28/07/2007Ref No: ILP/HW 47509/09 Batch No: 7050470902/189Winning No: GB8101/LPRC

Dear Sir/Madam, CONGRATULATIONS!!We are delighted to inform you of your prize which was released on the 28th July 2007, from the Australian International Lotto Lottery program, which is fully based on an electronic selection of winners using their e-mail addresses from some sites. Your email address was attached to ticket number; 47001725 07056490102 and serial number 7741134002. This batch draws the lucky numbers as follows 5-13-33-37-42and bonus number 17,which consequently won the lottery in the second category.

You hereby have been approved a lump sum pay of US$400,000.00 (FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS) in cash credit file ref: ILP/HW 47509/09 from the total cash prize shared amongst eight lucky winners in this category. All participants were selected through a computer balloting system drawn form Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia, United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania as part of our international promotion program which is conducted annually. This Lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomorate of some multinational companies as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have an operational base.

Furthermore, your details(e-mail address) falls within our European representative office in Amsterdam, Holland as indicated in your play coupon and your prize of US$400, 000.00 will be released to you from this regional branch office in NIGERIA. We hope that with part of your prize, you will participate in our 2008 new year high stakes for US$1.3Billion international draw.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE: Simply contact our fiducial agent, Dr. Malttew Ralph to file for your claim. Quote your reference, batch and winning number which can be found on the top left corner of this notification as well as your full name, address and telephone number to help locate your file easily.
PERSONAL INFORMATIONS 1: FULL NAME............... 2: NATIONALITY.................... 3: CONTACT ADDRESS................. 4: TELEPHONE NUMBER............... 5: FAX NUMBER....................... 6: MARITAL STATUS............ 7: OCCUPATION.............. 8: AGE.................... 9: SEX................
MEANS FOR TRANSFER OR PAYMENT.(1) International Certified Bank Draft. (2) Telegraphic Transfer. If Telegraphic Transfer write your bank account details information below. 10: ACCOUNT BENEFICIARY NAME:............. 11: ACCOUNT NUMBER:............... 12: SWIFT CODE:........................ 13: BANK NAME:....................... 14: ADDRESS:.....................
For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and your prize released to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this program by non-participants or unofficial personnel. PLEASE CONTACT AGENT, Dr. Malttew Ralph, so that he will tell you of how you will receive your winning prize Name: Dr. Malttew Ralph Email: paymentdevision@k.ro Note, all winnings MUST be claimed before ONE MONTH, otherwise all funds will be returned as Unclaimed and eventually donated to charity organisations.Congratulations, once more from the entire Management and Staff of Australian Lotto Lottery Incooperation to all our lucky winners this year. Thank you for being part of this promotional lottery program.
Yours Sincerely,Kathleen PeddicordPublisher, Australia International Lotto Lottery Inc.PLEASE DO NOT REPLY THIS EMAIL, CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT AT ANY BREACHOF CONFIDENTIALITY. paymentdevision@k.ro.

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam