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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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • ",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)
  • "00,000.00" (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!

Fraud email example:

From: Mrs. Kate Ghoi <Barr.GodfreyWilliams@aol.nl>
Reply-To: ClaimLot@aim.com
Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:51:41 +0100
Subject: CONFIRM YOUR WINNING !!!!!


CONFIRM YOUR WINNING

This email is to notify you that your Email
Address attached to a Ticket Number(106012)
has won an Award Sum of 1,000,000.00 Euros)
(One Million euro)In an Email Sweepstakes
program held on the 1st of March 2008.

Please contact the claim officer through the below
given contact information.

FOREIGN TRANSFER
Agent Processing/ Verification Officer
Mr. Evans Williams.
STAATS LOTERIJ CLAIMS DEPARTMENT.
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION PROGRAM.
Nederlandse
StaatsloterijPostbus 3334
5902 RH Venlo, Nederlandse.
TEL: 0031.619-703-948
FAX: 0031-847-53-9200
Email: Staatsloterij.nl@aol.nl

Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Kate Ghoi,
Public Relation Officer.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam