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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:
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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",500,000" (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 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.
  • bigbholdingsltd@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: MAC EURO MEGA ONLINE <macmguk48@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <bigbholdingsltd@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:50:24 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS HAS WON IN OUR EURO MEGA LOTTERY




MAC EURO-MEGA LOTTERY 2007.Ref: L/200-26937Batch: 2007MJL-01
We are pleased to inform you today 20th October, 2007 of the resultof the winners of the MAC EURO-MEGA LOTTERY ONLINE PROMO PROGRAMME, held on the 16th of September, 2007.You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of £2,500,000 (Two Million Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds Sterling) in cash,which is the winning payout for First category winners.
So much money is generated from people like you all over the World for using the Information Superhighway (the Internet) without your being aware the enormous sum that go to the stake holders (WWWITC). Without your patronage,this would not have been possible. After we conducted a research on theissue, we concluded that Internet users should be compensated. As a result,we embarked on a worldwide lottery promotion with a sophisticated automated database to randomly select E-mail accounts that frequently surf theInternet.Consequent upon this, your E-mail address was picked for Category'A'Winner.After the automated computer ballot, You/Your Company e-mail Address attachedwith Ref #: L/200-26937 and Batch: 2007MJL-01 with serial number 000-15drew The lucky numbers 25-1-06-7-34-23 and consequently won in the Third quarter of the 2007 year draw.
To file for your claim, please contact our claims agent below;
MR.SMITH ADAMSMANAGER BROKERAGE SERVICEBIGBEN HOLDINGS LIMITED.Email: bigbholdingsltd@yahoo.com.hk TEL:44-702-402-9631
With the information below:
1.Full Name:2.Full Address:3.Marital Status:4.Occupation:5.Age:6.Sex:7.Nationality:8.Country Of Residence:9.Telephone/Fax Number:10:Your winning Batch and Reference Numbers:

NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, pleaseremember to quote your Reference and Batch numbers in every one of yourcorrespondences with your agent. Furthermore you are seriously advised tokeep all winning lottery information and numbers from the public inline with our company security protocol to avoid double claiming andunwarranted abuse of this program by unscrupulous individuals. Again,should there be any change in your address, do inform your claims agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations once more from all members and staff of this program.

Sincerely,Mrs. Rose WoodAWARDS MANAGER,
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam