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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",000,000" (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)
• 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.
  • +447024014497 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr. Johnson" <jj_microsoft@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:47:25 +0100 (BST)
Subject: MICROSOFT ONLINE PROMOTION.



MICROSOFT HOUSE, LONDON
24 MICHAEL GREGORY STREET
LONDON WC2N 4ER.UK.











ATTN: LUCKY WINNER

This is in receipt of your mail.Your email was luckily drawn by a computer balloting system as one of our winners in our experimental lottery bonanza from the prestigous MICROSOFT ONLINE PROMOTION.Thus, making you the winner of the sum of 1,000,000.00GBP (One Million Great British Pounds Sterlings).

Please complete the form below with correct information and email back to us with a return email so that we can have a precise and comprehensive record of our winners.

To proceed with your claims, you would be required to fill the Verification Form below completely and return back to us immediately.

THIS SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY THE BENEFICIARY OF THE STATED FUND, FOR VERIFICATION BEFORE TRANSFER.

BENEFICIARY FULL NAMES......................

NATIONALITY...................................

RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS.........................


DATE OF BIRTH................................


SEX...............................................

TEL./FAX NUMBER....................................



EMAIL ADDRESS.................................


AMOUNT WON...................................


MICRO CHIP NUMBER..................................

OCCUPATION.....................................

MARITAL STATUS...............................

DECLARATION:

I..........................................................HEREBY DECLARE THAT THE ABOVE DATA ARE TRUE. THAT MY CLAIMS AGENT SHALL ACT AS A FACILITATOR IN THE TRANSFER OF THE TOTAL FUND TO ME.

Congratulations once again from the entire staff of the Microsoft Award Team.


MR. JIM JOHNSON
MICROSOFT AWARD TEAM.
United Kingdom
Tel:+(44)-702-401-4497
Fax:+(44)-707-502-4387






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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam