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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "overseas claims unit" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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.
  • +447031872441 (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.
  • loboard@yahoo.co.uk
  • jhlouis@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: lotto board <brdukloto67@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2008 06:02:26 +0000
Subject: YOU ARE A WINNER



BRITISH LOTTERY HEADQUARTERS CUSTOMER SERVICE 28 TANFIELD ROAD, CROYDON, LONDON REF NO: BTL/4910X1/04 BATCH NO: 12/25/0340 EMAIL:loboard@yahoo.co.uk

BRITISH LOTTERY WINNING NOTIFICATION

DEAR WINNER

We happily announce to you the draw of the BRITISH Sweepstake Lottery International programs held on the 20th September 2007 in London. Your e-mail address is attached to ticket number: 564 75600545-188 with Serial number 5388/02 drew the lucky numbers: 31-6-26-13-35-7,which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category. You are therefore, been approved to claim a total sum of £950,000.00GBP (Nine hundred & Fifty thousand British Pounds Sterling) in cash credited to fileKPC/9080118308/02.This is from a total cash prize £47 Million Five hundred Thousand British Pounds sterling, shared amongst the first Fifty (50) lucky winners in this category.

Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in our play coupon. In view of this, your 950,000.00GBP (Nine hundred and Fifty Thousand British Pounds Sterling) would be released to you by our affiliate bank in London or South Africa. Our agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds to you as soon as you make contact with him. All participants were selected randomly from World Wide Web site through computer draw system and drawn from over 100,000 email addresses world wide web site.

This promotion takes place annually. For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize. This is a part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous elements.

Please be warned. To file for your claim, please contact our Claims agent with the below details for processing of your claims.

Overseas Claims Unit United Kingdom Claims Agent Contact Person: John Louis Email: jhlouis@yahoo.co.uk

Tel: +44-703-187-2441 : +44-703-183-3201 : +44-703-183-3205

Sincerely, Paul Fellows. Co-ordinator(Overseas Unit)
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam