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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
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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")
  • ",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)
  • ",500,000" (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!
• 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.
  • +447035901818 (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.
  • claimsdepartment.tw@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "GOOGLE LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL" <claimsdepartment.tw@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:06:08 +0800
Subject: CATEGORY "A" DRAWS

GOOGLE LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION/PRIZE AWARD.
(WE ENCOURAGE GLOBALIZATION)

FROM: THE LOTTERY COORDINATOR,
GOOGLE B.V. 44 9459 PE.
RESULTS FOR CATEGORY "A" DRAWS

Congratulations to you as we bring to your notice, the
results of the First Category draws of E-MAIL LOTTERY
organised by GOOGLE INTERNATIONAL. We are happy to inform
you that your email address have emerged a winner of One
Million (1,000,000.00) Euros, which is the winning payout
for Category A winners. This is from the total prize money
of Two Million (2,000,000.00) Euro shared among the 2
winners in this category. Participants were selected through
a computer bllot system drawn from 2,500,000 email addresses
of individuals and companies from Africa, America, Asia,
Australia, Europe, Middle East, and Oceania as part of our
International Promotions Program.

CONGRATULATIONS! Your fund is now deposited with the paying
Bank. In your best interest to avoid mix up of numbers and
names of any kind, we request that you keep the entire
details of your award strictly from public notice until the
process of transferring your claims has been completed, and
your funds remitted to your account. NOTE: To file for your
claim, please contact the claim department below on email
and providehim with the below details for verification.

Full Names:
Contact Address:
State:
City:
Telephone Number:
Sex:
Occupation:
Date Of Birth:
**********************************************
OFFICER IN CHARGE: MR. TIM WALTERS
EMAIL: claimsdepartment.tw@hotmail.com
TEL: +44 703 590 1818
**********************************************
Find below your promotion date, Reference and Batch numbers.
Remember to quote these numbers in your correspondence with
your claims agent. PROMOTION DATE 28TH OF MARCH 2008.
REFERENCE NUMBER: GLLINT/07/04/768970118. BATCH NUMBER:
78/09/230. Congratulations once again from all ourstaff and
thank you for being part of our promotions program.

Sincerely Yours,
Mrs Joyce Gram.
THE PROMOTION COORDINATOR.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam