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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:

• 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)
  • "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.
  • +2348034920690 (Nigeria, 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.
  • agentrussell_gell@yahoo.com
  • 3aagentrussell_gell@yahoo.com

Fraud email example:

From: "usalottery award" <usalotto88@telegraf.by>
Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 13:43:26 +0100
Subject: CONGRATULATION!!!


Date:30/05/2008
Ref 575061725
Batch: 8056490902/188
Winning no: KB8701/LPRC

CONGRATULATION!!!

We are delighted to inform you of your winning on the 30th of may 2008 from
the United States of America International Lottery Program which is
partially based on an electronic selection of winners using their e-mail
addresses.

Your e-mail address was attached to ticket number; 575061725 8056490902
serial number 6741137002 .This batch draws the lucky numbers as follows:
4-13-33-37-42 bonus number 17,which consequently won the lottery in the
second category.

All participants were selected through a computer balloting system drawn
from Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia, Asia,
Europe,Middle East, and Africa as part of our international promotions
program which is conducted annually.

This Lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some
multinational companies as part of their social responsibility to the
citizens in the communities where they have operational base and you are
entitled with a huge lump of $1,000,000.00.

HOW TO FILE YOUR CLAIM: Simply contact our Fiducially Claims a Agent, with
below informations;

CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT HERE
Russell Gell
DIRECT NUMBER:+2348034920690
Official Email:agentrussell_gell@yahoo.com<Email%3Aagentrussell_gell@yahoo.com>
Address: UNITED KINGDOM. 61-70 Southampton
Row Blooms bury London United Kingdom WC1B 4AR

*CLAIMS REQUIREMENT*
1. FULL NAMES: ...................................?
2. NATIONALITY: ..................................?
3. DATE OF BIRTH: ..................................?
4. SEX: ......................................................?
5. MARITAL STATUS: ..................................?
6. CONTACT ADDRESS: ..................................?
7. TELEPHONE NUMBER: ..................................?
8. OCCUPATION: ..................................?
9. REF NUMBERS:..................................?
10. BATCH NUMBER:..................................?
11. WINNING NUMBER: ..................................?
12. TOTAL AMOUNT WON: ..................................?

Please quote your Date of draw, Reference Number,Batch Number and Winning
Number, which can be found on the top-left corner of this message.Also, you
should give in your telephone number to help locate your file easily. For
security reasons, we advice the winner to keep this information confidential
from the public until your claim is processed and been released to you.

This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and
unwarranted taking advantage of this program by non-participant or
unofficial personnel.

Note: all winnings MUST be claimed before 9th of June 2008; otherwise the
fund will be returned as Unclaimed and eventually donated to charity.

Congratulations once again on your winning!
Best Regards.
Mr. John Phillip
(For the co-odinator

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam