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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:

• 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")
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million dollars" (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)
  • ",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)
• 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.
  • +27788465339 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
  • +27866012512 (South Africa, 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.
  • haynesbucker@aim.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs Sibusiso Kunene" <winamanje@wml.co.za> (may be fake)
Reply-To: haynesbucker@aim.com
Date: Mon, 19 May 2008 05:00:17 +0200
Subject: WINA MANJE LOTTERY COMPANY OF SOUTH AFRICA

WINA MANJE LOTTERY COMPANY
SA HEAD OFFICE
SUITE 14-10, CENTURY TOWERS
MELROSE ARCH
JOBURG SOUTH AFRICA


Dear Winner,

My name is Mrs Sibusiso Kunene and on the behalf of WINA MANJE LOTTERY COMPANY OF SOUTH AFRICA,We wish to inform you that you are one of our lucky winners which were randomly selected from a batch of 50,000,000 international emails.
Your email address emerged along side 9 others as 1st category winner in this year's Annual Lottery Draw.

Consequently, you have therefore been approved for a total pay out of 850,000.00 US Dollars (Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand US Dollars only).The following particulars are attached to your lottery payment order:

(i) Winning numbers: 8-13-34-55-84-85.BONUS 22.
(ii) Email ticket number: WN:754/22/76
(iii) Lottery code number: WN:09622SA
Please contact the under listed claims officer as soon as possible for the immediate release of your winnings:

MR BUCKER HAYNES
CLAIMS AGENT
SA HEAD OFFICE
SUITE 14-10, CENTURY TOWERS
MELROSE ARCH
JOBURG SOUTH AFRICA
EMAIL:haynesbucker@aim.com
TEL:+27-78-8465-339
FAX:+27-86-6012-512

This email notification is auto-generated and it is valid for Eight weeks.
Once again on behalf of all ourstaff,
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Sincerely,
Mrs Sibusiso Kunene

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam