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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery 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:
  • "international court of justice" (not involved with lotteries)
  • "vittorio fondazione" (not involved with lotteries)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "clear source of funds certificate" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
  • "certificates of origin of funds" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
  • "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
  • "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 mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +2348060276011 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • info_ecowascounselor_dispatch@yahoo.com

Fraud email example:

From: VITTORIO CLAIMS UNIT <online_vittorioclaims@yahoo.it>
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 20:16:37 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: CONTACT ECOWAS FOR YOUR DISPATCH WITH YOUR PARCEL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER: CPEL/OWN/9800


VITTORIO FONDAZIONE.

ISTITUTO PACE SVILUPPO
INNOVAZIONE ACLI
Organizzazione Non Governativa delle
ACLI per la Cooperazione Internazionale
Sede Nazionale
http://www.ipsia.acli.it/
Via G. Marcora,
18/20 - 00153 Roma


Concern Winner Mr Orlin Hochmann,

Your mail was forwarded to this office, Congratulations once again on behalf of the Donations Board. We do believe that your winnings will be put into good use for community, educational and business development. On Behalf of the Screening Committee of Donations Board, I wish to formally announce to you that you have successfully passed the Email Screening and Verification Matching Test conducted for all online winners in your Category. Hence you are therefore cleared, your cheque has been issued and you can now claim your donation.

All necessary documents that will facilitate the clearance of your cheque in your name has been processed,
Your parcel contains the following documents:

1.WINNING CHEQUE VALUED THE SUM OF $500,000,00
2.WINNING CERTIFICATE FROM THE DONATIONS BOARD.
3.CLEAR SOURCE OF FUNDS CERTIFICATES(C.S.F.C.)
4.CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN OF FUNDS(C.O.F.)
5.LETTER OF AFFIDAVITS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE, STATING THAT THE WINNING WAS RECEIVED LEGALLY FROM THE UNIVERSAL DONATION PROGRAM, AND DUELY SIGNED BY THE LEGAL ATTORNEY TO THE DONATIONS BOARD.

These documents have been securely sealed and packed for security reasons which makes it impossible for anyone to view it until its been delivered to you.

The Donations board has discovered a huge number of double claims due to winners informing close friends relatives and third parties about their winning and also sharing their pin numbers. As a result of this, these friends try to claim the donation on behalf of the real winners. The Donations board losses millions of dollars to this fraudulent people, and has reached a decision from headquarters that any double claim discovered by the Donations board will result to the Donations board cancelling that particular claim, making a loss for both the double claimer and the real winner, as it is taken that the real winner was the informer to the double claimer about the winnings. So you are hereby strongly advised once more to keep your winnings strictly confidential until you have claim your donation.

Your parcel with identification number: CPEL/OWN/9800 has been sent to our affiliate claims office, because your claims falls within our ECOWAS booklet, and you have been directed to contact the Ecowas Counsellor in charge of your claims dispatch.

CONTACT ECOWAS FOR YOUR DISPATCH WITH THEIR DETAILS BELOW.



MR. AHMED SHURU
COUNSELLOR, ECOWAS HEAD OFFICE ABUJA.
PLOT 4, BLOCK 23,
GARKI, ABUJA.NIGERIA
TEL: +2348060276011
EMAIL:counsellor@ecowasdispatch-office.dom-reg.com
EMAIL:info_ecowascounselor_dispatch@yahoo.com


NOTE: This office will not be responsible for any outstanding fees if any. Services rendered by the dispatch company are to be paid by you if any and not the donations board. Have it in mind that your won prize cannot be deducted from, this is because your cheque cannot be cashed by anyone. This is in accordance with section 13(1)(n) of the donations act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3RD July 1996 by the constitutional assembly in charge of the donations. This is to protect winners and to avoid misappropriation of funds.

Its is imperative that you add your identification number {CPEL/OWN/9800} as the subject of any correspondence with the dispatch office to ensure they respond in a timely manner. I will require a concise update on proceedings with the dispatch office as soon as you are in contact with them. If you need any assistance whatsoever, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Best Regards,
Donations Agent
Mr.Claudio Giovanni




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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam