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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")
  • "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!

Fraud email example:

From: INTERNATIONAL COURIER SYSTEMS Mrs Parker White <infoicscourierss07@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:48:23 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Urgent Responds


In response to your Email this is to inform you that the Content of your Email was well Understood.You do not have anything to be worried about.

First i will like to inform you that, your email was picked in a random draw of over 10,million email address, and your email was picked, which won you the UK national lottery price this year.

We received a package from the UK national Lottery office and we are set to deliver it to you. The contents of your package are: Certified Bank Cheque, Original Copies of Certificates, A Dell Inspiron 6400 Laptop, A UK Lottery Branded T-shirt, A UK Lottery Branded Baseball cap and Security Documents.

International Courier Systems is one of the UK's most unusual express parcel delivery companies. What could possibly be unusual about a parcel delivery service? After all doesn't an express parcel delivery company simply collect the package and deliver it, in perfect condition, to the right address at the right time?

At International Courier Systems our service goes beyond simply picking up a parcel from one point and dropping it off at another. We like to develop partnerships with our clients. In other words we get to know our customers, know what their delivery needs are and work with them to provide the most efficient delivery solution available.

Thanks to the convenient location of our headquarters, in London, our fleet of vehicles can access the major UK motorway networks quickly and easily. This allows us to personally deliver parcels, documents and other items of freight, up to one and a half tonnes, throughout the UK, Europe and Worldwide.

The International Courier Systems is a very reputable company that has been working hand in hand with the UK national Lottery Office for over 12 years.

I wish to advise you candidly that this is not a scam and also you will not be required to make payment for any Tax whatsoever as all taxes as being taken care of by the lottery board.

I want you to go ahead and choose an option as directed,Your winning parcel is covered by a Hardcover Insurance Policy.

As your Delivery Officer it is my Duty to ensure that your Funds get to you as soon as possible.

As soon as you pick a delivery option,we shall issue you a tracking number with which you will be using to monitor and check the status of your parcel on line.When this is done we shall send our account officer details with which you will be using to make the needed payment.

The Claims Agent of the UK National Lottery have been finding it difficult to inform Winners outside United Kingdom of the activities of the scammers on-line.

I would like you to take my Word because that is all i can say at the moment as regards to the Claim of your Winning Package,you are Dealing with the right people and your Winning Funds is genuine.

It has always been a problem for us Due to such activities of these scammers and hoping that you do not allow this opportunity which the UK National Lottery is giving you to pass you by.

But if on the Contrary you decide to decline the Procedure,then you will have to Fill the Forfeiting Form indicating that you wish not to Claim your Funds this is to Prevent any Legal Encroachment from your Lawyers in Future.

To begin the final step of the claims process, which is the shipment of your winning cheque Price to you. With regards to this, there are Three Delivery options open to you, you are required to select the most convenient of the Three Delivery Options.

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

Number of Packages: 1 PKT

Package Contents: Certified Bank Cheque,Original Copies of your Winning Certificate, Consolation Prices which include a Dell Inspiron 6400 Laptop, a UK Lottery Branded T-shirt, a UK Lottery Branded Baseball cap and Security Documents.
Delivery time :.....................( time of recipient's availability)

Be informed that we do not operate a cash on delivery service for packages of this nature because of the required insurance.

Note that your Price is protected by a hardcover Insurance Policy, which makes it impossible to deduct any amount from the money before it is been remitted to you. This means that the above charges cannot be deducted from the Price and hence must be provided by you before your Price delivery.

This is in accordance with section 13(1)(n) of the National Gambling Act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3RD July 1996 by the constitutional assembly.This is to protect winners and to avoid misappropriation of funds.
On acknowledgement of this email, I will furnish you with information on how to make the required payments.

Send your response to indicate your option within the next 24hrs

YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE OR ANY IDENTIFICATION WE BE NEEDED UPON DELIVERY.
Thanks for your patronage and i hope I have informed you accordingly as I await your prompt response.

Warm Regards,

Congratulations.
Mr Parker White.
Client Services Manager.
International Courier.

For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claim is delivered This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned !!!


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam