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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:
  • "claim agent" (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!

Fraud email example:

From: awards2008@mchsi.com (UK NATIONAL LOTTERY)
Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:21:44 +0000
Subject: RE:AWARD FINAL NOTIFICATION

We are pleased to inform you again about our NEW YEAR
LOTTERY BONAZA price won by you a week ago.
You have been approved to claim a total sum of
£750,000(Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Pounds Sterlings) Equivalent
1,609,426.20 USD
REF: XYL/26510460037/07,
Batch 24/00319/006/IPD.
All participants for the online version were
selected randomly from the
World Wide Web through a computer draw
system and extracted from over
100,000 unions, associations, and corporate
bodies that are listed online. Your e-mail address
attached to e-ticket number: 03- 15 -19-24-28-34(with
bonus ball 17)drew a prize of £750,000 per winner. This lucky
draw came first in the 2nd Category of the Sweepstake
Contact Our Claim Agent SIR THOMAS CHESS,
via below Email

Email: claimoffice@ukloffice.com
with the Following
NAME:
ADDRESS:
AMOUNT WON:
EMAIL:
COUNTRY:
PHONE NUMBER
AGE:
OCCUPATION:

Congratulations in advance.

Yours Faithfully,
Mrs. Carolyna Anderson.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam