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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
  (+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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
• 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.
  • barr.chukwudiomeje@yahoo.dk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: AU RESULT <auresult018@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 05:53:50 -0400
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS! ON YOUR WINNING !!!!!!





AUSTRALIA INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY
Ref: 410612555525
Batch: 0000490902/188
Winning no: KB35685/LPRC

CONGRATULATIONS!


Dear Sir/Madam,


We are delighted to inform you of your prize release this month of July 2007 from the Australian International Lottery program which is fully based on an electronic selection of winners using their e-mail addresses. Your name was attached to ticket number; 7565654202 654245452 serial number 9845451425 This batch draws the lucky numbers as follows 89-58-55-58-21 bonus number 17, which consequently won the lottery in the second category. You here by have been approved a lump sum pay of US$350,000.00 (THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS) in cash credit file ref: ILP/HW 4585574/02 from the total cash prize shared amongst eight lucky winners in this category. All participants were selected through a computer balloting system drawn from 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 Lottery 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 European representative office in Amsterdam, Holland, as indicated in your play coupon and your prize of US$350,000.00 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, BARR. CHUKWUDI OMEJE, [ barr.chukwudiomeje@yahoo.dk ], and file for your claim. Please quote your Date of draw, Reference Number, Batch Number and Winning Number, which can be found on the top-left corner of this message. Also, you should give in your telephone number to help locate your file easily and probably forward this mail to him. For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and your prize has been released to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this programme by non-participant or unofficial personnel. Note, all winnings MUST be claimed before the end of October 2007; otherwise all funds will be returned as Unclaimed and eventually donated to charity.


Congratulations once again on your winning!


Best Regards
Mr Ben Wilson
(Co-ordinator)

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam