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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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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:

• 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:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "vat (5%)" (VAT rate in the UK is 17.5%, check the math)
• 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!
• Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.

Fraud email example:

From: TNT COURIER SERVICES <tntcourierdept77@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 07:48:14 +0100 (BST)
Subject: COURIER COST/PAYMENT DETAILS






ATTENTION:Winner,

This is to inform you that you have been officially
cleared for payment by the Verifications Dept. at the headquarters
of The UK National Lottery.

The original copy of this certificate from the British
Government stating that the money was obtained legally through
The UK National Lottery and will be sent to you or your bank
as soon as you meet with any of the options selected and your
winnings will be couriered or transferred to you immediately.

You can now begin the final step of the claims
process, which is the transferring of your cash prize to you either in Cash/Cheque. With regards to this, there are three options open to you, you are required to select the most convenient of the three.

The options, together with their associated conditions
are presented below:

OPTIONS:
Courier of your winning draft to you via any of this
channel listed below:

Option:1
TNT EXPRESS DELIVERY (Overnight)
Mailing.................................£105.00
Insurance.............................£430.00
Vat (5%)................................£034.75
TOTAL..................................£569.75=====OR===$978.35


Option:2
TNT PREMIUM SERVICE(2working days)
Mailing.................................£75.00
Insurance.............................£350.00
Vat (5%)................................£038.95
TOTAL..................................£463.95=====OR===$796.87


Option:3
TNT REGULAR SERVICE(4working days)
Mailing ;.............................£60.00
Insurance.............................£300.00
Vat (5%)..............................£019.00
TOTAL.................................£379.00=====OR===$650.96



MODE OF PAYMENT

The charges are a little bit high because of the Hardcover insurance Policy we have undertaken in case of loss,Damage or Theft of your highly sensitive document and funds. We assume all responsibilities in case of any eventualities and we don't deliver on cash on delivery(C.O.D) because we don't accept cash.

You are to make the payment for any of the option you have chosen through Western Union Money Transfer so as to enable us speedy up the process of delivery after indicating to us the option you prefer. You are to locate the nearest western union agent to you and make the payment in Favour of our Accounts Officer Mr.Justin Hoyte with the Details Below:

RECEIVERS INFORMATIONS

NAME OF RECEIVER:JUSTIN HOYTE
ADDRESS OF RECEIVER:20-22 Eastbury Road, London,E6 6LP

You are to send the following information via email as they appear on the western union transfer slip:

1.Name and address of sender
2.Amount sent
3.Control number(MTCN)

You are to send a copy of the evidence of payment to me and your claims agent as well for confirmation. A Confirmatory Email shall be sent to you Immediately we Confirm your Payment.

As soon as we receive confirmation and evidence of payment of the above charges, we shall dispatch your winnings to you immediately. The date and time of departure and expected date of delivery will be sent to you. It will take twenty-four hours to get your parcel delivered to you. You will be required to sign for the parcel and to do this, you will need either your international passport as identification or your driver's license.

All orders not delivered within Ten (10) working days from this communication will be returned. Please ensure that you confirm your delivery address.We are glad to be of service to you.

Kindly Note that you are to inform us of the option you have chosen while we await your Evidence of Payment.

Sincerely,
Terry Hopkins


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam