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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.

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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:
  • "atm payment department" (this phrase is often used in the ATM card payment scam)
  • "activation fee" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. Never ever send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally. )
  • "huge amount of money" (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)
  • "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
  • "barr." (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
• This email message is a "New Partner from Paraguay" scam.
• 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.
  • +22993991335 (Benin, probably a prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "office_file8 Gazeta.pl" <office_file8@gazeta.pl>
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2008 10:56:51 +0200
Subject: CONTCAT ATM DEPARTMENT FOR YOUR MASTER CARD


*Attn:My Dear,*

*
This is to inform you about my success in transfering your money into an ATM
master card to curtail the risk of carrying huge amount of money arround.We are
the peole that coded this amount of money in the card and we are going to tell
you how to make use of it.Presently i'm out of the coutry for investing my
own part of the total money.*

*
Meanwhile,i didn't forget your past efforts and attempts to assist me
in moving the cash despite that both of us could not make it.Now contact ATM
PAYMENT DEPARTMENT and their email address is(atmdepartment@msn.com) ask them
to send you the sum of eight hundred and fifty thousand us dollars
($850.000.00) in an ATM MASTER CARD which i kept for your compensation for all
the past efforts and attempts to assist me in this matter.this card centre will
send you an ATM card which you will use to withdraw your money in any ATM
machine in any part of the world, the maximum is Five Thousand United State
Dollars per day.*

*
I appreciated your efforts at that time very much,So feel free and get in
touched with the ATM PAYMENT DEPARTMENT and instruct them on where to send your
total share of the money to you.Therefore do not hesitate to contact Oceanic
Bank Benin ATM payment department centre and also re-confirm the following
information as listed below:*

*
1. Full Name
2. Address were you want them to send the ATM card
3. Phone number (private)
4. Your age and current occupation
5. Country Name and Code*

*
Forward the above inforamation to:
Dr. mike Williams,Director, ATM payment department Oceanic Bank Benin Republic.
Republic. Direct line:+229-93-991-335,
Emails:(atmdepartment@msn.com)*

*Please do let me know immediately you receive it so that we can share the joy
together after all the sufferness at that time. In the moment, i am very busy
here investing with my new partner.Remember that you are going to pay a
reactivation fee.The reason for the reactivation fee is that the account has
been there for a long time while the government was doing serious
investigations on the right owner of the money before this conclusion was made.*

*
Finally, I have forwarded instructions to the DEPARTMENT to send the
Confirmable ATM MASTER CARD to you, so feel free to get in touch with the
DEPARTMENTand they will send the CARD to you without any delay. DO FAST AND
CONTACT THEM IMMEDIATELY OK?*

*
Best Regards,
Barr.David Ike,
*

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam