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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!
  
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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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.
  • +447035907901 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "YAHOO ONLINE PROMOTION" <info.dispatch@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: gary.adams88@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:04:06 -0700
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS !!!

YAHOO AWARDS CENTER
From The Desk Of The Manager
International Promotion/Yahoo Award Center
124, Stockport Road, Longsight,
Manchester M60 2DB- United Kingdom



This is to inform you that you have won a prize of Four Hundred, Twenty Thousand Pounds(£420,000.00) for the month of June, 2008 Prize promotion which is organized by the YAHOO AWARDS & WINDOWS LIVE. YAHOO collects all the email addresses of the people that are active online, among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo and Hotmail and few from other E-mail providers. Twenty Six people are selected monthly to benefit from this promotion and you are one of the selected winners.

PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM

Winners shall be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Center. Yahoo Prize Award must be claimed not later than 15 days from date of Draw Notification. Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited. Stated below are your identification numbers:

BATCH NUMBER: MFI/06/APA-43658
REFERENCE NUMBER: 2006234522
PIN: 1206

These numbers fall within the United Kingdom Location file, you are requested to contact our fiduciary agent in United Kingdom and send your winning identification numbers to him. Below you will find a Documentation Form, requesting your required particulars.

YAHOO ONLINE DOCUMENTATION FORM

FULL NAMES: _______________________________________________________

ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________

CITY:_______________________ STATE: _______________________ ZIP: ______

PHONE AND FAX NUMBER: ____________________________________________

COUNTRY: ___________________________________________

SEX: _____________AGE: __________ MARITAL STATUS: __________________

OCCUPATION:_________________________________________________________

EMAIL ADDRESS: ____________________________________________________

You are required to fill and submit the above particulars to our Overseas Claim/United Kingdom payment Unit with the below email address.
Overseas Claims/Exchange Online Payment Unit

Contact Person: Name: Dr. Gary Adams

Tel: 44-703-590-7901
Fax: 44-870-471-4813
Email: gary.adams@bluebottle.com

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

At your disposal, we remain.

Yours in service,

Mrs. Maureen Smith
YAHOO AWARD PROMOTIONS

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam