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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
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• 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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "vittorio fondazione" (not involved with lotteries)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "million united states dollars" (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)
  • ",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)
  • "ecowas " (the name of a person or institution often appearing in 419 scams)
• 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.
  • sec.claudiox1@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Mr Neil Paul <uklotm101212@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:50:39 -0400
Subject: IMPORTANT NOTICE....



VITTORIO FONDAZIONE. Corso Ercole I d'Este 44, Ferrara 44100 - Italy. IMPORTANT NOTICE Foundation's Officer, Fondazion Di Vittorio, ITALY http://www.fondazionedivittorio.it CONCERN Fondation De France as established 1979 by the Multi-Million groups was conceived with the objective of Human Growth, Educational and Community development.The France Foundation in conjunction with the ECOWAS, UNO and the European Union,These funds are freely given toyou to use for your business educational and personal development. You were selected among the lucky recipients to receive the award sum of US$100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million United States Dollars) as charity donations/aid from the France Foundation, ECOWAS and the UNO in accordance with t he enabling act of Parliament. You are required to expeditiously contact the Executive Secretary with your Qualification numbers (P-333-7858,B-011-67) for processing of your claims,you'll be given your donation pin number.Contact Claudio Giovanni (DPU) Information Officer. Enter Personal Details: First Name: Last Name: Annual Income: Address Line 1: Address Line 2 (optional): City: State: Zip/Postal Code: Country: Valid Phone Number: Fax (optional): E-mail: --------------------------------------------------------- DUE PROCESS UNIT: Executive Secretary - Claudio Giovanni Email: sec.claudiox1@yahoo.com.hk --------------------------------------------------------- On behalf of the Board kindly accept our warmest congratulations Yours faithful ly, Mr Neil Paul. (Foundation officer)

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam