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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• 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:

• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: James Hamilton <jameshamilton2002@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2007 19:24:20 +0100 (BST)
Subject: URGENT REPLY


DEAR CUSTOMER,

WE ARE IN RECEIPT OF YOUR MAIL AND WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU NEED TO FILL THIS BELOW INFORMATION FOR US TO VERIFY IF YOUR AMONG THE WINNERS DO COMPLY FOR URGENT DELIVERY PLEASE.

VERIFICATIONS FORM
FULL NAMES........................................

CONTACT ADDRESS......................................

TEL/FAX NUMBERS......................................

AGE..........................................

SEX..........................................

OCCUPATION...................................

NEXT OF KIN..........................................

COUNTRY......................................

AMOUNT WON..........................................

WINNING EMAIL........................................

REFERENCE NUMBER...................................

TICKET NUMBERS......................................

SERIAL NUMBERS......................................

YOURS FAITHFULLY,

MR. JAMES HAMILTON


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam