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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
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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims office" (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.
  • +447031860397 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • sjones_serena@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: pj2377@mchsi.com (sjones_serena@yahoo.co.uk)
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:43:20 +0000
Subject: YOU WON!!!

NATIONAL LOTTERY
8 LOWER MALL,
HAMMERSMITH
Liverpool, L70 1NL
UNITED KINGDOM
(Customer Services)
Ref: UK/9420X2/68
Batch: 074/05/ZY369
Phone +447031860397

Dear Lucky Winner,

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

RE: BONUS LOTTERY PROMOTION PRIZE AWARDS WINNING NOTIFICATION
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Dreamfield National
Lottery (international program) held on the 22 August, 2007.

Your e-mail. address attached to ticket #: 34090322816 with prize
#435680-00/12 drew 1,000,000.00 GBP which came out first in the 1st
Category of the draws.You have been approved to receive 500,000.00 GBP(Five
Hundred
Thousand Pounds).
Because of claims mix-up and the limited time claims pay-outs, we will
advice that you keep your winning information confidential until your
prize (500,000.00 GBP) has been remitted to you by our accredited
paying bank.

You must adhere to this instructions strictly to avoid loss
of your cash prize - this program has been abused severally , so we are

doing all we can to forestall further abuse by way of wrong claims.
It's important to note that this draws were conducted formally under
the watchful eyes of over 45,000 audiences. Winners are selected
through
an internet ballot system from 160,000 personal and corporate
e-mail addresses.
The program sponsored/supported by MCI Networks in conjunction with
Dream field National Lottery. Congratulate you once again.

All winning must be claimed not later than 10-days after you receive
this notification.
Failure to claim your cash prize after this date will result in prize
forfeiture. In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications
remember to quote person all and winning numbers in correspondence with
paying bank.
Kindly send the following for remittance of your funds:
(i) Your names...................................
(ii) Contact telephone and fax numbers..............................
(iii) Contact Address..................................................
(iv) Your winning numbers.........................................
(v) Quote amount won..........................................
(vi) Occupation.....................................................
(vii) Sex................................................
(viii) Country..................................
(ix) Age.......................................

Contact the dispatching officer Dreamfield National Lottery
with the following immediately:

Contact person: Ms. Serena Jones
E-mail: sjones_serena@yahoo.co.uk
Congratulations once again.
Yours in service,
Mrs Sarah Milch.
Lottery
Coordinator.
N.B:
1.All claims are nullified after 20 working days from today.
2.Your Ref number must be in all your mails with the claims officer.
3.Do inform the claims officer of any change of names or
addresses.
4.Please do not reply to this email. Contact your claims agent.
_______________________________________________________________________
The INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,
UK. is proudly sponsored by financial Corp's, the Dreamfield Lottery
Group and a
conglomeration of other international IT companies. and is organized to
encourage the use of the internet and computers worldwide. We are proud
to say that over 200 Million Pounds are won annually in more than 150
countries worldwide

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam