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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:
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
• 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.
  • +447024081354 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • mr.smithallen@yahoo.de (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "info.cbn0009 Gazeta.pl" <info.cbn0009@gazeta.pl>
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2008 16:37:19 -0700
Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Your_e-mail_address_has_won_you_=A32,367,834.00?=


UK LOTTERY ORGANIZATION
TICKET FREE/ONLINE E-MAIL ADDRESS WINNINGS DEPARTMENT.

If you are the correct owner of this email address then be glad this day as
the result of the UK lotto online e-mail address draws of 26th May 2008 has
just been released and we are glad to announce to you that your email
address won you the sweepstakes in the first category and you are entitled
to claim the sum of £2,367,834.

Your email address was entered for the online draw on this Ticket Number:
APP236566301307 and won on this Lucky Number: MX014926583. You are to
contact Mr. Charles Hart of Q-Dell Courier Company London on the below email
address for the delivery of your winning Certificate and Check. Note that
Mr. Allen Smith might fail to recognize you as the true winner and receiver
of the £2,367,834 if you fail to include the following in your contact mail
to him:

Your country of origin and country of residence/work, complete official
names, address, amount won, free ticket and lucky numbers, date of draw,
contact telephone and mobile numbers. OPTIONAL: - [Sex, age, occupation and
job title].

Contact Officer: Mr. Allen Smith
Tel: +447024081354
Email-Address: mr.smithallen@yahoo.de

Congratulations once more from all members and staffs of this program and
thank you for being part of our promotional lottery program. For safety
measures and to avoid fraudulent claims you are advised to keep all about
your winnings information and notification confidential and away from all
third parties till your check arrives your address.

All claims are nullified after 10 working days from today if unclaimed
Good luck.
Mr. peter Moore
Online coordinator/Notification Officer
Sweepstakes International Program

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam