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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
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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:
  • "activation fee" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. )
  • "huge amount of money" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
  • "vat (5%)" (VAT rate in the UK is 17.5%, check the math)
  • "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 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.
  • +447045716125 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: ERIC WHITE <claims_001@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 05:03:18 -0400
Subject: BANK TRANSFER AND COURIER DELIVERY CHARGE



EURO MILLIONS

INTERNATIONAL

Unit 11, Ashford Industrial Estate, Shield Road, Ashford, Middx, TW15 1AU, London
United Kingdom.

8TH AUG. 2007, WINNER Compliment of the day.




You
are welcome to Interworld Forwarding Services Limited, we are a well
established company offering courier and transport services through
affiliated courier companies 24 hours a day for prompt delivery of
letters, parcels and consignments to any destination by road, air or
sea.



We
have a substantial team of couriers available for motorcycle dispatch
plus van driver couriers in all sizes, vehicles from small vans up to
7.5 tones and international couriers for dispatch by road, sea or air.



Having been established for 13 years we have the experience and expertise to provide services second to none.



The
confirmation has been forwarded to us to handle the transfer of your
winning price to you by providing you with the original copy of your
winning certificate and other document backing your winnings from
the U.k National Lottery Mail Team stating that the money was obtained
legally through the U.K National Lottery
Incorporated, so you will have to satisfy our charges via our upfront
options which is the handling of your winnings to you according to the
option selected by you. we are with your complete details and are to
send your winning certificate, frame and check to you.



This means that you have been officially cleared for payment by the Verifications Department of the U.K Lottery Inc, you
can now begin the final step of the claims process which is the
transferring of your cash price to you by selecting from the option
most convenient and suitable with you.



With regards to this, there are three options open to you (You are to make your preferred and affordable choice in the options)The
options, together with their associated conditions are presented below.





Option
1: Employ the services of our affiliated courier company to courier
your certificate and bank cheque to you via any of these channels
listed below:

Option 1 A : (24 hours Delivery) Mailing £150.55 Insurance £240.00 Vat
(5%) £005.53 AGENCY FEE £350.24 TOTAL £745.32 Option 1 B: (48 hours Delivery) Mailing £142.02 Insurance £280.00 Vat (5%) £002.10 AGENCY FEE £365.24 TOTAL £789.36 Option
1 C: (48 Hours Delivery) Mailing £192.02 Insurance £280.00 Vat (5%) £002.10 AGENCY FEE £365.24 TOTAL £839.36 OPTION (2) Employ the services of our Paying banks to
transfer your winnings to you. Option 1 d: (24 hours Delivery) Mailing £200.00 Insurance £300.00 Vat (5%) £010.36 AGENCY
FEE £265.00 TOTAL £775.36 As a Forwarding Agency, we also provide winners with bank transfer
option; an account has to be activated for you so that your money can be transferred. Below is the cost to activate an account.
ACTIVATION FEE £1000 AGENCY
FEE £275.24 VAT (5%) £035.26 TOTAL £1310.5 You can visit the international web page for current currency exchangewww.xe.com

Once
again we do not do delivery without our agency fee and company charges,
you are to shoulder the payment of the option selected by you before we
can proceed with remitting of your won price to you because it is not
our responsibility to pay the cost, we are just an agency providing
services to you.

As
an agency we provide the best services to our customers to enable safe
delivery of parcels and consignments to them, we hope you do understand
our working pattern?



On
receipt of your mail we shall provide you with the payment procedures
of your selected option accordance to the conditions stated in the
option chosen.



Note
that your total price claim has been insured to the real value and as
such cannot be deducted from or added to. The constitutional assembly
in accordance with section 13(n) of the national gambling acts as
adopts this in 1993 and amended on 3RD July 1996. This is to protect
winners and to avoid misappropriation of funds.



All
that we require of you is your maximum cooperation for smooth
transfer/delivery of your money to you, your quick anticipation will
determine how soonest you will get your money.



We
wait to hear from you soonest and again we say congratulations and
remember to keep this information very confidential, as this is a huge
amount of money that you won. We are working very hard to avoid double
claiming and impersonation, so that we can ensure the successful
transfer /delivery of your winnings to your country. I hope you respect
this privacy policy?



You are to respond to this notice within 24hrs.



All
winners must note that stringent adherence to these instructions is a
very salient part of the claims process, as a winner may be
disqualified without any further prior notice on these grounds.



Regards,

Mr. Eric White.

Dispatch Director

Interworld Forwarding Services Ltd

Phone no +44-704 571 6125

_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam