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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:
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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "australian lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million dollars" (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)
  • "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• 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 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.
  • alex.rankov@yahoo.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: frank newton <frank_newton35@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <alex.rankov@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 10:19:28 +0000
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION...





AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY UNI,24 HIGHER AVENUE HARRIS PARK GRANVILLE NSW 0152 SYDNEY AUSTRALIA. Ref: 475061725 Batch: 7056490902/188 Winning no: GB8701/LPRC CONGRATULATIONS!! WIHT $1,000 000.OO(ONE MILLION DOLLARS)Dear Sir/Madam, We
are delighted to inform you of your prize release on the
12th AUGUST 2007, from the Australian Lotto incorporated program.This
is a bonus to promote lotto in australia
Which is fully based on an electronic selection of winners using their
e-mail addresses form some site. Your email address was attached to
ticket number; 47061725 serial number 7741137002 This batch draws the
lucky numbers as follows 5-13-33-37-42 bonus number17,which consequently won the lotto in the second category. You
are here by have been approved a lump sum pay of US$1,000 000.00
(ONE MILLION DOLLARS) in cash credit file ref: ILP/HW 47509/02 from the
total cash prize shared amongst eight lucky winners in this category. All participant were selected through a computer balloting system drawn form Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada,Australia,United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East,Africa and Oceania as part of our international promotions program which is conducted annually. This
Lotto was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some
multinational companies as part of their social responsibility to the
citizens in the communities where they have operational base. Further more your details (e-mail address) falls within our Africa representative office in Abuja Nigeria,
as indicated in your play coupon and your prize of US$1,000 000.00 will
be released to you from this regional branch office in NIGERIA. We
hope with part of your prize, you will participate in our end of year
high stakes for US$1.3 Billion international draw. HOW TO CLAIM YOUR
PRIZE: Simply contact our fiducially agent, Alex Rankov E-mail address alex.rankov@yahoo.com to file for your claim . by filling this form below and send it to him to file for your claim $1,000 000.00 LOTTERY WINNERS APPLICATION FORM OF PAYMENT. FULLNAME................................................. DATE OF BIRTH.................................. ADDRESS.................................................. SEX......................... AGE.................................. NATIONALITY........................................... OCCUPATION........................................... TELEPHONE.......................................... EMAIL................................................. DATE...................................................... WINNER REF/BATCH NO...........................APPROVED FOR PAYMENT. Please quote your reference, batch and winning number which can be found on the top left corner of this notification . For
security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this information
confidential from the public until your claim is processed and your
prize released to you. This is part of our security protocol
to avoid double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this
program by non-participant or unofficial personnel. Note, all winnings
MUST be claimed before the end of this programme, 31ST AUGUST 2007; otherwise all funds will be returned as Unclaimed and eventually donated to charity organizations. Congratulations once again on your winnings!!! Best Regards Rev frank newton (co-coordinator) PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT AT alex.rankov@yahoo.com ANY BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY ON THE PART OF THE WINNERS WILL RESULT TO DISQUALIFICATION. Yours faithfully, Rev Frank NewtonOnline coordinator for AUSTRALIAN LOTTO PROGRAMME,

_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam