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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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• 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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear friend" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "cotonou" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  
• 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.
  • +22993696614 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • courierfedex13@yahoo.fr

Fraud email example:

From: officefile19@freenet.de
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:12:23 +0200
Subject: contact courierfedex


Dear Friend,
I have been waiting for you since to come down here and
pick your draft but I did not hear from you since that time.Then I went
and deposited the $2.5M usd as a consignment box to FEDEX COURIER
COMPANY here in Cotonou Benin Republic,because I travelled to SAUDI
ARABIA to visit my friend and i will not come back till next month
ending.

I want You to contact the FEDEX COURIER COMPANY to know when
they will deliver your package. I have paid for the delivering charges
and security fee including the keeping fee.The only money you have to
send to them is the,insurance fee, which is $130.00 Us Dollars to
received your package. Please, Send them your contact information to
enable them locate you immediately they arrived in your country with
your BOX .This is what they needed from you.

1.YOUR FULL
NAME...................
2.YOUR HOME ADDRESS........
3.YOUR CURRENT
HOME TELEPHON E NUMBER.........
4.YOUR CURRENT OFFICE TELEPHONE......

5.A COPY OF YOUR PICTURE .......
6.YOUR COUNTRY................
7.YOUR
NEAREST AIRPROT .................

CONTACT PERSON;REV,DR PIUS EZEH.

DIRECTOR GENERAL OF FEDEX COURIER COMPANY BENIN REPUBLIC.

E-mail:courierfedex13@yahoo.fr r)
CONTACT PHONE: +229936-966-14

Try
to contact them as soon as possible to avoid them increasing insurance
fee. I gave them your delivering address but you have to reconfirm it
to them again to avoid any mistake on the delivery.Let me know as soon
as the delivery of your package is completed.Do not tell them the
content of the box because I registered it as a box of ordinary family
goods.

Best Regards.
Mr.Sule Adamu
Unbegrenzter Speicher,
Top-Spamschutz, 120 SMS und eigene E-MailDomain
inkl.
http://office.freenet.de/dienste/emailoffice/produktuebersicht/power/mail/index.html

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam