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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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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• 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: Barrister Patrick Hennessy <hennessylaw01@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2007 12:46:32 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Immediate Attention Required.


ATTENTION: Mr Wilhelm Wirthlich
I Mr Kelvin Bode Customer Services Department assigned to your case. I wish to
congratulate you on your victory; you are a lucky person to have won this
lottery. Your email address was amongst those chosen weekely from the new
java-based software that randomly selects email addresses from the web from
which winners are selected.
You are required to provide your details which includes full name shipping address
to enable use estimate its cost of carriage to your country.to help facilitate the
processing of your claims and certificate which will facilitate the release of
your winnings
You are advised to forward this information as soon as possible to enable our correspondent Agent in to attend to your winnings. I have been assigned to handle delivery, once we confirm your information; your payments would be processed.
Everything was done in such a way that our payments mode would meet the
standards set by the Lottery board. After you have sent down this information,
a certificate will be sent to you . This is to be your proof of winning from
the office
You are advised to keep your winning numbers secret to avoid unscrupulous elements from taking advantage of the situation.
NOTE: Attached a copy of your IDENTITY (passport, driving license or national identity card).
Incomplete document will delay the process.
Once again, congratulations.



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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam