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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "microsoft mega jackpot lottery" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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.
  • +447045720448 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTERY U.K. <micro@onlinenotification.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:12:11 +0000
Subject: INFORMATION LETTER ON INQUIRY 2


















































MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTERY U.K.






REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/LBATCH: 4583JL/WIN

MICROSOFT EMAIL LOTTERY AWARD PROMOTION: UNITED KINGDOM
THE OAKLAND ROUNGE
52 WATERDEN ROAD,
HACKNEY, LONDON,
UNITED KINGDOM
E15 2EE
INFORMATION LETTER ON INQUIRY


Attention: Alarik Luftmacher,

Uneasy!!!

What is the factual relationship between you and this Office, Please note that as you are in distress about any stance it affects us as well because you are a winner and we are here to help you claim your winnings in a reputable manner that is safe and secured. Please do not find any procedure uneasy or difficult as any means we are taking is to make sure that the right person claims his/her winnings. For security reasons the Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft Mega Jackpot Lottery U.K.) on notifying you about your winnings placed their security match of which is their Batch and Reference Numbers being:

REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/LBATCH: 4583JL/WIN

So the fact that you are being scared or in otherwords uneasy as you claimed, please do know that you are a winner of a lump sum prize and will ONLY be required to do the claiming immediately without hesitation as every means has been put in place to curb Doubl Claiming and Misappropriation (SCAM)/Thieft. In other to avert such manners the security of notifying you were put in place.

Note that winners have the Power to Attorney as winners are liable to claim their prize on an acceptable manner. That means that as you have requisited/instruct, we will carry out your claims. Hence, we will proceed to the paying bank (Barclays Bank London) to revalidate your winnings of which was in Cash formally into Cashier's Cheque worth thesame amount you have won. We will raise a Cheque on your behalf of which will be sent to the Affiliated Courier Company (Delux Delivery Systems U.K.) for immediate affcetion on delivery.


Regards,

Signed,
The Claims Processor:Name: Mrs. Daines Denzel
E-mail: micro@onlinenotification.co.uk


Tel: +44 704 572 0448
Fax: +44 704 572 0449


Mrs. Daines Denzel
Claims Officer U.K.










Please remember to quote your reference and winning numbers in all correspondences with this office. You are to keep all lotto information away from the general public especially your ticket number and ballot number.
(This is important as a case of double claims will not be entertained)





LOTTERY SPONSOR






Microsoft Corporation U.K.






____________________________________________________________________________________
Microsoft Electronic Mail Lottery is approved and Licensed by the The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam