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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• 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.
  • +447031906056 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Steven Howard <stevenhoward198@msn.com>
Reply-To: <inforclaimsagent2008uk1@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2008 17:13:03 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATION""YOUR EMAIL ID HAS WON BRITISH CHARITIES LOTTERY
PROMOTIONS UNITED KINGDOM.




BRITISH CHARITIES LOTTERY PROMOTIONS UNITED KINGDOM.We are pleased to inform you of the announcements today of Winners oftheMEGA JACKPOT LOTTO WINNING PROGRAMS.Your company or personal e-mail address, is attached to a Ticket number123-765-90, with a serialnumber 42243-98-01 drew the Lucky WinningNumbers 06-14-17-28-30-41.You have therefore been awarded the total lumpsum pay out of £1,350,000.00 (British Pounds) credited to File Ref No:BCLP/ 24-FB-4234243/008UK.You must contact the claims department by e-mail;Name: Mr.Steven HowardTel: +(44) 703-190-6056 Email: inforclaimsagent2008uk@yahoo.co.ukCongratulations once again from all our staff for being a part of ourPromotions program.Mrs.Elizabeth GraysonOnline co-ordinatorThe society lotteries are managed by Sisson Marketing InternationalLimited,certified by the Gambling CommissionELM Certification 180/3/2.© Charities Lottery 2008British Lottery 2008 Winner.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam