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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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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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:
  • "diplomatic delivery"
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "money laundering" ("anti-terrorist", "anti-money laundering" or "drug-free" certificates are a common way for criminals in fake lottery scams and other Advance Fee scams to get you to send money to them. There are no such certificates in the real banking world. )
  • "deadline" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
  • "diplomatic delivery" ("diplomats" who perform deliveries of cash or other valuables to you only exist in 419 scams)
  • "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "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!
• Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
• 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.
  • +447011138668 (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.
  • skyelinkcourierservices@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: SKYELINK COURIER SERVICES <skyelinkcourierservices@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:37:28 +0100 (BST)
Subject: WELCOME TO SKYE-LINK COURIER COMPANY(MS/35468/EGL)


SKYE-LINK COURIERS
(GLOBAL DIPLOMATIC DELIVERY)
12 Trans Drive, London,SE181ZX,United Kingdom

Email: skyelinkcourierservices@yahoo.co.uk

ATTENTION: Juhi Varunilan,


PARCEL REGISTRATION CODE:MS/35468/EGL


SKYE-LINK COURIER COMPANY is a well-established company offering courier and transport services 24 hour a day for priority delivery of letters, parcels and consignments to any destination by road, air or sea. We have a substantial team of couriers available for motorcycle dispatch plus van driver couriers in all size vehicles from small vans up to 7.5 tonne and international couriers for dispatch by road, sea or air.We have extensive UK, European and World connections.


This E-mail sent to you is to inform you that the Verifications Dept. at the headquarters of the MICROSOFT WORD LOTTERY UK has officially cleared you for payment.The original copy of your certificate together with a covering document (Money Laundering protection and Letter of Affidavit for Claims) from the British government stating that the money was obtained legally through a registered lottery programmes( MICROSOFT WORD LOTTERY UK ) will be couriered to you as soon as you meet with any of the option listed below, your winnings will be transferred to you immediately.

SHIPMENT AND BILLING
The Lottery certified cheque and documents are packaged to be delivered under one way bill by the contracted Courier Company and are categorized as High priority & Express delivery under applicable laws and regulations. This shipment cannot be delivered to PO boxes or postal codes but to Receiver's address. Transit times for delivery of parcels to customers are in working days and are subject to change depending on location of collection and delivery, weight and value. For lightweight shipment, you may be charged for its value as well as dimensional weight rather than its actual weight.

INSURANCE POLICY
This delivery parcel for greater protection has also been insured in accordance with shipping regulations under unlimited liability. This comprehensive cash in transit insurance cover for your consignment has been arranged {for effective and fast customs clearance}.Delivery of parcel/Transfer of winnings commences {2-3 days} after payment covering delivery charges is made.

ITEM ORDER NUMBER
Order number for Lottery prize parcel: {ORDER NUMBER: MS/35468/EGL} you will be asked to give your order number before signing for any document at the arrival of your parcel at your assigned destination. You are hereby advised to keep your order number confidential as this company will not be liable for any uncertainty whatsoever bearing the misconduct on the path of the customer.

PRICE INDEX OF ITEMS
Prices quoted indicate the Air Express services available from the UK to your destination country for the selected shipment type. The actual availability of services is determined by destination area code or city name, and subject to commodity and value restrictions for dutiable shipments.

Whosoever must present the delivery officer identification card regarding to the above names mention. There after you will be given a tracking number to monitor your good on line.You can now begin the final step of the claims process, which is the transferring of your cash prize to you. With regards to this, find below options open to you; you are required to select the more convenient.

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

OPTION ONE (SAME DAY DELIVERY)

Handling & Delivery Cost.............£380.00
Insurance....................................... .£550.00
Administrative Charges.................£025.00
Total Cost.......................................£955.00GBP = $1,925.78 USD
Length of Days...............................24Hrs
Order Number.........................MS/35468/EGL

OPTION TWO (2-3 DAYS DELIVERY)

Handling & Delivery Cost............ £310.00
Insurance........................................£440.00
Admin istrative Charges.................£025.00
Total Cost.......................................£775.00 = $1,562.48 USD
Length of Days...........................Two-Three Days
Order Number..........................MS/35468/EGL

OPTION THREE (3-4 DAYS DELIVERY)

Handling & Delivery Cost............ £240.00
Insurance........................................£330.00
Admin istrative Charges.................£025.00
Total Cost.......................................£595.00 = $1,199.44 USD
Length of Days...........................Three-Four Days
Order Number..........................MS/35468/EGL

Please note that the charges are best substantial because of the insurance cover we have undertaken incase of loss, damage or package breakage of your high priority document. We assume all responsibilities incase of any eventualities.

The International money transfer company, Western Union Money Transfer have been choosen as method of payments for customers, you are to make payment through any regional office close to you. This payment method was adopted to ameliorate and speed up the process of payment and delivery because of its wide network of operation.

Important Note: That your courier charges cannot be deducted from your Winnings due to Article 1186 section 45 subsection 2.3 of Constitution of the United Kingdom as relates to Financial and freight matters, which are duly codified in the United Kingdom law.

Please respond to this email by making a selection from the options above. Also be reminded that the deadline for the claiming of winnings is exactly two weeks after the receipt of this email. After this period, your cash prize will be deemed to have been forfeited by you and will be reused in the drawings of the next edition of the lottery as stated by the lottery company.

Good luck and Congratulations once again. Please send your response within the next 24hrs to this same email address.

We are glad to be of service to you.

MR. JERRY ANDERSON
CUSTOMER SERVICES
SKYE-LINK COURIER COMPANY.
ADDRESS: 12 Trans Drive, London,SE181ZX,United Kingdom.
Email: skyelinkcourierservices@yahoo.co.uk
TEL:+4470-1113-8668
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................
This message, along with any attachments, is strictly confidential, and intended solely for the use of the person or organization to whom it is addressed. It may contain privileged and confidential information which is covered by legal, professional, or other privileges. If you are not the intended recipient, you should not copy, distribute or take any action in reliance on it. In this case, please destroy the email and its attachments. Any opinions presented, expressed or implied, are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Company.
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................



Copyright © 1996-2007 Skye-Link Couriers




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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam