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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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: 2008 AUSTRALIAN LOTTERY RESULT <australianlottery-onlineresult@office-awardmail.net>
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:45:01 +0000 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: *****SPAM***** ((( CONGRATULATIONS!! YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS HAVE WON :$500,00.00
CONGRATULATIONS!!)))


Spam detection software, running on the system "spam1.pem.inap.sea.dotster.net", has
identified this incoming email as possible spam. The original message
has been attached to this so you can view it (if it isn't spam) or label
similar future email. If you have any questions, see
the administrator of that system for details.

Content preview: FROM THE DESK OF MR BRAD FELDMAN ONLINE CORDINATOR NATIONAL
LOTTO AUSTRALIA P O Box 1010 New South Wales SOUTH AUSTRALIA (Customer Services)
Dear Winner, [...]

Content analysis details: (15.0 points, 7.0 required)

pts rule name description
---- ---------------------- --------------------------------------------------
0.1 RDNS_NONE Delivered to trusted network by a host with no rDNS
1.8 SUBJ_ALL_CAPS Subject is all capitals
1.6 MISSING_HEADERS Missing To: header
3.2 DEAR_WINNER BODY: DEAR_WINNER
0.0 HTML_MESSAGE BODY: HTML included in message
1.7 MIME_HTML_ONLY BODY: Message only has text/html MIME parts
1.0 KAM_LOTTO2 Highly Likely to be a e-Lotto Scam Email
1.1 HTML_MIME_NO_HTML_TAG HTML-only message, but there is no HTML tag
0.5 KAM_LOTTO1 Likely to be a e-Lotto Scam Email
2.0 ADVANCE_FEE_2 Appears to be advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419)
2.0 KAM_LOTTO3 Almost certain to be a e-Lotto Scam Email

The original message was not completely plain text, and may be unsafe to
open with some email clients; in particular, it may contain a virus,
or confirm that your address can receive spam. If you wish to view
it, it may be safer to save it to a file and open it with an editor.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam