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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.

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:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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.
  • +27769420534 (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.
  • vinceabey_07@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)
  • 3avinceabey_07@yahoo.com.hk

Fraud email example:

From: "william thabo" <williamthab10@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 24 May 2008 10:15:08 -0700
Subject: congratulations


CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE A WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are pleased to inform you today 24th may, 2008 as one of the lucky
winners of
our Soccer World Cup Draws held by Confederation of Africa Football (CAF)/
South
African Football Association (SAFA) to promote the first ever soccer world
cup in
Africa which will be held 2010 in South Africa,Participants in the draws
were
selected through a computer ballot system drawn from 2,500,000 e-mail
addresses of
dividuals and companies from Africa,America,Asia,Australia, Canada, Europe,
Middle
East,and New Zealand as part of our electronic business Promotions Program.

You are qualified for this draw as a result of you visiting various websites
we are
running the Electronic-business promotions for. You/Your Company e-mail
address
attached with REFERENCE NUMBER: SAFA 2010/AFRICA 2008, BATCH NUMBER:
154-02I-CAF
with serial number 000-19 drew The lucky numbers 2-2-14-13-6-36 and
consequently won
in the Fitst quarter of the 2008 year draw. You have therefore been approved
for a
lump sum pay out of $2,200,000.00 in cash, which is the winning payout for
First
category winners. This is from the total prize money of US$15,000,000.00
shared
among the seven winners in the First category.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Your winnings should be claimed from our paying Agents. (WINDSOR FINANCE
LIMITED) as
we have notified them. Due to the mix-up that may arise from emails of
winners and
numbers,we ask that you keep this award strictly from public notice until
your claim
has been processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our
Security
Protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by participants of
this
program.
We hope with a part of your prize, you will participate in our end of year
(2008)
high stakes US$1.2 billion International Lottery. To begin your claim,please
contact
our agent who also will be your claims agent.

VINCENT ABEY
CLAIMS/FINANCE MANAGER
WINDSOR FINANCE LIMITED
SANDTON,SOUTH AFRICA
TEL:+27-76-942-0534
FAX:+27-11-21442-711
EMAIL:vinceabey_07@yahoo.com.hk <EMAIL%3Avinceabey_07@yahoo.com.hk>

For due processing and remittance of your prize money,Remember you must
contact your
claim agent not later than two weeks After this date, otherwise,all funds
will be
returned as Unclaimed.
Please contact your claims manager and provide him with the requested
information so
that he can Expedite the processing of your claims.

NAME:_______________________________________________________________
COUNTRY:____________________________________________________________
ADDRESS:____________________________________________________________
CITY:____________________STATE/PROV:________________________________
ZIP/POSTAL:_________________________________________________________
PHONE:________________FAX:__________________________________________
EMAIL:______________________________________________________________
REFERENCE NUMBER:___________________________________________________
BATCH NUMBER:_______________________________________________________
AGE:________________________________________________________________

NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please
remember to
quote your Reference and Batch numbers in every one of your correspondences
with
your agent. Furthermore you are seriously advised to keep all winning
lottery
information and numbers from the public in line with our company security
protocol
to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by
unscrupulous
individuals. Again, should there be any change in your address, do inform
your
claims agent as soon as possible.

Congratulations again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our

Promotions program.

Yours sincerely,
Customers Service Department
Cafsafa Lotteries.

N.B. Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to

disqualification.
Anybody below the age of 18 is automatically disqualified,You are obliged to
donate
10% of your winning to any listed charity organization in South Africa.

Please contact your claims agent

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam