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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "22 garden close, stamford" (address often used in fake lottery scams)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "transfer of your funds" (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)
  • ",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)
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
• 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.
  • +447031849545 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: Beijing Olympic Organisers <toni.mcfarlane@bigpond.com>
Reply-To: vodafoneclaim@live.co.uk
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 9:03:36 +1000
Subject: THE 2008 OLYMPIC PROMOTIONS



Customer Service and Logistic Department
Reference No:FL/668530092 Batch No: 452006/14/IOC08/FL.=20

We gladly wish to inform you of the draws of the VODAFONE ONLINE PRO=
MOTION INTERNATIONAL in conjunction with the National Organizing Committee =
of the 2008 Beijing Olympic held on the 22ND of JUNE 2008 in Beijing China.=
=20
However, your e-mail address assigned to E-Tag number 193.45.24.02 in=
the Random Computer Selection System(RCSS) of email addreses, flagged out=
the lucky numbers 21-7-14-04-19-34 and consequently won you the lottery =
in the 1st category.=20

CONGRATULATIONS!!!=20
Please be informed that all participants in this Vodafone promotion program=
were selected randomly through a computer ballot system drawn from over 50=
0,000 companies and 50,000,000 individual e-mail addresses.This Vodafone pr=
omotion is Organized by the host country in collaboration with the Internat=
ional Olympic Committee (IOC). Funds for the draws have been contributed by=
the major sponsors of the games which include adidas,Hyundai, FujiFilm,Mas=
terCard,Samsung,Gillette,Continental,Msn,Tesco,Toshiba,Mcdonalds and a host=
of others.=20

Due to possible mix up of some numbers and email contacts, we ask that you=
keep this award strictly from public notice until your claim has been proc=
essed and your money remitted. This is part of our security protocol to avo=
id double claiming or unscrupulous acts by some participants of this progra=
m.=20

With respect to the above, you have therefore been approved for payment o=
f a lump sum of Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great Britain Pounds (=C2=
=A3850,000.00 GBP) in certified cheque credited to File No:LP/26510460037/0=
2. This is from a total cash prize of Eight million five hundred pounds(8,5=
00,000.00GBP) shared among the ten international winners in the 1st categor=
y. Along with (A FIRST CATEGORY RAFFLE DRAW TICKET) i.e. "a chance of winni=
ng a free flight ticket to watch the return of 28 sports, and will hold 302=
events (165 men's events, 127 women's events, and 10 mixed events), one ev=
ent more in total than in Athens.

To begin the claim processing of your prize you are to contact the Redempti=
on Officer stated below with your personal details.

Mr. Dennis Coy ,
22 Garden Close, Stamford,
Lincs, PE9 2YP, London
United Kingdom=20
Tel: +44 703 184 9545
E-mail: vodafoneclaims@live.co.uk

NOTE: He is your agent, and responsible for the processing and transfer of =
your winnings to you. YOUR SECURITY CODE NUMBER IS V-3965-OP=C2=B057/C1 (ke=
ep personal) Remember, your winning must be claimed not later than 22nd Jul=
y 2008.=20

THIS SHOULD BE COMPLETED ONLY BY THE BENEFICIARY OF THE STATED FUND,
FOR VERIFICATION BEFORE TRANSFER.=20

BENEFICIARY FIRST NAME......................
BENEFICIARY LAST NAME......................
NATIONALITY...................................
RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS.........................
DATE OF BIRTH................................
SEX...............................................
TEL. NUMBER....................................
FAX NUMBER.....................................
EMAIL ADDRESS.................................
AMOUNT WON...................................
REFERENCE NUMBER..................................
BATCH NUMBER...................................
OCCUPATION.....................................
MARITAL STATUS...............................=20

CHOOSE ONE MODE OF PAYMENT BELOW:

1: Have our affiliate Courier Service Deliver your Cheque to you free of ch=
arge....
2: Online Transfer of your funds( Open an account with the designated
Bank in UK)...............

In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please remember to =
Quote your reference and batch numbers in every one of your correspondence.=
Furthermore, should there be any change of your address, do inform your fid=
uciary agent as soon as possible.=20
Accept my hearty congratulations once again!
=20
Sincerely,
Qi Liu=20
President Olympic Organising committee

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam