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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!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• 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:

• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "lottery winners international e-mail programs" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "foreign service manager" (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.
  • +447024024410 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: varaha@ecunet.org (may be fake)
Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2008 06:23:25 -0600
Subject: YOUR EMAIL WON THE PRIZE

Your Email Won The Prize!
From Caecilia D. Lloyd (Mrs) (Claim Prize)
The British Hotball Lotto
11 Claughton Firs,Prenton CH43 5TG
Liverpool United Kingdom
REFERENCE #:67/80/IPD
BATCH #: EGGS-541-623-782
Sir/Madam,
Being officially assigned to select winners across the globe, the
management is pleased to inform you of the result of the Hot Lotto GBP
millions British Lottery Winners International E-mail programs held on the
31th December, 2007 and result where release on the 10th September,2007.
Your E-mail address attached to ticket number 653-908-321-675 with
serial main number 345- 790-241-671 drew lucky star numbers 34-32-90-43-32
which consequently won in the 2nd category, you have therefore been
approved for a lump sum pay out of GBP1.500.000.00, with REFERENCE
#:67/80/IPD and BATCH #: EGGS-541-623-782.
Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your
winning information confidential until your claims have been processed and
your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to
avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some
participants. All participants were selected through a computer ballot
system drawn from over 100,000 company and 50,000,000 individual email
addresses and names from all over the world.
This lottery was promoted and sponsored by Software Companies in order
to enhance and promote the use of Internet Explorer Users and
Microsoft-wares around the globe.Mr Louis E. Greg
email: louisgregconsul@xrs.net
Tel: +44 702 402 4410
Fax: +44 709 287 2619
Foreign Service Manager
Any one below the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.
Warm wishes from the Coordinator.
(Mrs.)Caecilia Lloyd

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam