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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.

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.
• 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.
  • mrsvanessawhitescott001@yahoo.de (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "mark wildman" <m_wildman@btconnect.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:03:35 +0100
Subject: YOU HAVE WON...

Dear Winner,

This is to inform you of the release of our 2007 MSW MEGA JACKPOT,Your
e-mail address, is attached to winning number 01-12APR-2007-02MSW, with
serial number S/N-00168 drew the lucky numbers 887-13-865-37-10-83, and
consequently won in the first lottery category. You have therefore been
approved for a lump sum pay out of 500,000.00 GBP ( FIVE HUNDRED
THOUSAND POUNDS STERLING) credited to file REF NO:MSW-L/200-26937. This
is from total prize money of GBP 2,500,000.00 POUNDS, shared among the
Five (5)international winners in this category.

In respect to claims,you must first contact the claims department by
email.

Name: Mrs Vanessa White Scott
Email: mrsvanessawhitescott001@yahoo.de

You are to forward the following details to
enable her clear your file for immediate payment:

1. Full Names: _______________________
2. Address: __________________________
3. Age: ______________________________
4. Sex: ______________________________
5. Marital Status: ___________________
6. Occupation: _______________________
7. Phone numbers: ____________________
8. Fax number: _______________________
9. Country: __________________________

Yours faithfully,
Sir Mark Wildman.

 

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam