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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!
  
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• 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:

• 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:
  • "from: the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million british pounds" (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)
• 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.
  • +447031892033 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448704718353 (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.
  • mr.paulmorgan@katamail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Uk Micro <uk.micro13@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007 12:01:42 +0200
Subject: NOTIFICATION.








FROM: THE DESK OF THE MICROSOFT™ PROMOTIONS MANAGER INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,61-70 SOUTHAMPTON ROW, BLOOMSBURY LONDON UNITED KINGDOM WC1B 4AR.
REF.:PEC/9030108308/07. Batch: 15/76/EF36.
Serial No: SALP97585.
Winning No. 21528414246 Bonus 3


ELECTRONIC EMAIL AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION AWARD PRESENTATION CENTER UNITED KINGDOM:


ATTN: WINNER,

Microsoft™ co-operation management worldwide is pleased to inform you that you are a winner of our annual MICROSOFT™ USER AWARD-Lottery conducted in United Kingdom on 20th September 2007, your personal e-mail address or company email was attached to Serial No: SALP97585. Consequently winning in the first lottery category.


All participants were selected through our Microsoft computer ballot system,drawn from Canada, Asia, Australia, United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceania .As part of international "MICROSOFT™ USER" promotions program, This promotion takes place annually, and your lucky winning number falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon.

You have therefore been approved for a total sums of £1,000,000.00 (One Million British Pounds Sterling Only) Credited to FILE No: B665 75608567. With REF.:PEC/9030108308/07. This is from total prize money of £60,000,000.00 shared among the Seventy-five (75) lucky Worldwide winners in first category.


Please be informed by this winning notification, to file your claims, you are to make contact with your designated agent in London United Kingdom who shall by duty guide you through the process to facilitate the release of your prize. To file for your claim Please Contact him with the below information:

Mr. Paul Morgan

Tel: + 44 703 189 2033/ 2135
Fax:+ 44 870 471 8353/ 8354
: mr.paulmorgan@katamail.com
Address: 157-197 Buckingham palace roads
London sw1w 9sp

Our special thanks and gratitude to Bill Gates and his associates. We wish you the best of luck as you spend your good fortune in this season.

Note, all prize money must be claimed within 30 days of this notification. All funds not claimed on or before the fixed date will be returned as unclaimed and donated to charity organizations. Congratulations, once more from the entire management and staff of Microsoft™ co-operation to all our lucky winners this year.

For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and your prize released to you.
Thank you for being part of this promotional lottery program.



CONGRATULATION! CONGRATULATION!! CONGRATULATION!!!
Sincerely,
MRS. BROWN CATHY
(SECRETARY)


AWARD SPONSORS

MICROSOFT™ CORPORATION.
Please call your claim agent if your mail was not responded to within 24 hours:

Copyright © 1998-2007 The MICROSOFT™ Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Service - Guideline

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam