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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:
  • "microsoft mega jackpot lottery" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",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)
  • "u.k " (this email uses bad English)
• 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.
  • mailoffice2007@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mail Office" <mail-office@btconnect.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 11:00:23 +0100
Subject: MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTERY U.K.

MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTERY U.K.                                                                                                               REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L BATCH: 4583JL/WIN   MICROSOFT EMAIL LOTTERY AWARD PROMOTION: UNITED KINGDOM   Finally today, we announce the winners of the MICROSOFT MEGA JACKPOT LOTTO WINNINGS PROGRAMS held early this month 2007 . Your company or your personal e-mail address, attached to winning number 23-76-06-54-42-100, With serial number 647489, consequently won in the Tenth lottery category.   You have been approved for lump sums pay out of £850,000. British pound sterling in cash Credited to file REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L and winning number 23-76-06-54-42-100. Selection process was carried out through random selection in our computerized email selection machine (TOPAZ) from a database of over 1,000,000 email addresses drawn from all the continents of the world. The online draws was conducted by a random selection of email addresses from an exclusive list of 29,031 E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet. No ticket were sold but all email addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and privacy. This is to encourage  our prominent Microsoft Internet Explorer users all over the world, and for the   Continues use of E-mail.   Your fund (Certified Cashiers Cheque) has been insured with your REF NO: MSW/56B-672GH/L and winning number 23-76-06-54-42-100. To claim your winning prize, you must first contact the claims department by email for Processing and remittance of your prize to you.     Rev. Mike Charles Claims Officer U.K.    You are to reply to this In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to quote your reference and winning numbers in all correspondences with your claims officer. You are to keep all lotto information away from the general public especially your ticket number and ballot number. (This is important as a case of double claims will not be entertained)   PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU ARE TO SEND THE BELOW INFORMATION REQUIRED TO CLAIM YOUR WINNING PRIZE: 1.Full Name:............................................................... 2.Address:.................................................................. 3.Nationality:............................................................. . 4.Age:.........................Date of Birth:.......................................... 5.Occupation:.............................................................. 6.Phone:...............Phone 2:...................Fax:................. 7.State of Origin:......................Country:........................       Please every correspondence should be sent to the email address provided below:   mailoffice2007@gmail.com In Attention of Rev. Mike Charles     Sincerely, Mrs. Maurrine C. Anner Secretary                                                                                                                                     Dr. Angela Georgetown                                       Mrs. Maurrine C. Anner               Online Co-ordinator                                                Secretary                                                                                     LOTTERY SPONSOR                                                       Microsoft Corporation U.K ..                                                                  2007

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam