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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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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.

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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:
  • "lottery winners international e-mail programs" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • ",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.
  • +34679859785 (Spain, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: Mrs.Alonso Perez Antonia <eurosec@mail.org>
Reply-To: larryben@europemail.com
Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:01:19 +0200
Subject: CONGRATULATION, YOU ARE AMONG THE LUCKY WINNER.


EURO MILLIONS LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL.
FROM: INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION/PRIZE AWARD DEPT.
REF: OGS/2211777009/01
BATCH: 12/024/IPD /SL
RE: WINNING NOTIFICATION / FINAL NOTICE

Sir/Madam

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Euro millions Lottery
Winners International E-mail programs held on the 30th of july 2007. Your
E-mail address attached to ticket number 30001415966-629 with lucky main
number 01 03 21 32 39 drew lucky star numbers 02 06, which consequently
won in the 2nd category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum
pay out of 1.000.000.00 Euro. (One Million Euro)
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your
winning information confidential until your claims has been processed
and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol
to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some
participants.
All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn
from over 100,000 company and 50,000,000 individual email addresses and
names from all over the world.
This lottery was promoted and sponsored by Bill Gates, President of
Microsoft, the world's largest software company in order to enhance and
promote the use of Internet Explorer Users and microsoft-wares around
the globe. This promotional program takes place every three year. We
hope with part of your winning you will take part in our end of year 50
million Euro International lottery.
To file for your claim, please contact our fiducial agent:
Mr LARRY BENSON .
Foreign Operations Manager/Claims Agent.
EURO SECURITY S.A (Madrid-Spain)
TEL:+34 679 859 785 , +34 665 399 341
Email:larryben@europemail.com
Remember, all winning must be claimed not later than 30th of september 2007. =
After this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next
stake. Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and
complications please remember to quote your reference number and batch
numbers in all correspondence. Furthermore, should there be any change
of address do inform our agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for
being part of our promotional program.
Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.
Sincerely yours,
Mrs.Alonso Perez Antonia
Lottery Coordinator.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam