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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:
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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "cheque " (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.
  • townsendcountybankplc@yahoo.co.uk
  • britishpostcourierservicesltd@yahoo.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: Hillary Martins <infohillarymartinss@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2007 15:56:38 +0100 (BST)
Subject: UK-LOTTO Headquarters: Fred Kuefler ONLINE LOTTERY


UK-LOTTO Headquarters:
United Kingdom
*****************************
Ref: 94PT/957/-00885PT
Batch: DT957/74UK
*****************************
Dear Fred Kuefler,

The entire staff of the LOTTERY congratulate you for being one of the lucky winners in this month’s on-line lottery promotion. You are indeed lucky because your email address won you the sum of £250,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand British pounds sterling). Your e-mail was among the email accounts extracted for this program and all participants were selected randomly from World Wide Web sites through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 companies all over the world.

After due verifications, you have been officially confirmed for payment. To claim your prize, we have two standard options.

1. Cheque delivery to your home address

2. On-line Bank transfer.



The on-line bank transfer allows you credit your funds personally via the Internet to your designated bank account anywhere in the world. You do not need to send your personal bank account details if you decide to use the bank transfer option because we do not need it. If your preferred option is bank transfer, please contact the paying bank below.

Townsend County Bank
Address: Suite 415 , Royal Liver Building , Stratford Road ,
London SW1Y 5BL , United Kingdom
Contact Officer: Allen Cole (Director of Operations)
Phone: + (44) 704-572-5332
Fax: + (44) 207-060-0827
Email: townsendcountybankplc@yahoo.co.uk

But if your preferred option is the cheque delivery, kindly forward to our affiliated courier company the following details (Name, Resident Address,Ref #.,Telephone and Amount Won) for immediate processing and quick dispatch of your winnings.

Brit Post Courier Services Ltd.
Mr. Adams Webster(Esq) ( Administrative Officer)
Email: britishpostcourierservicesltd@yahoo.co.uk
Phone: + (44) 704-570-6633

NB: For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claim is processed and your money transferred to a designated bank account of your choice. This is a part of our precautionary measures to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous elements. Please be warned.

Congratulations once again and I look forward to your anticipated co-operation.





Regards,

Mr.Hillary Martins.
Claims/Dispatch Officer.
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam