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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • ",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)
• 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.
  • +31622594095 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: "Clark Gregg" <cgregg@greystar.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:09:13 -0500
Subject: EPWL/200-020/300

EURO-PW LOTTERY v6.0,
WEBSITE: www.europw.com
POSTBUS 636-5930 AM
TERNEUZEN, HOLLAND.

RE:OFFICIAL PRIZE AWARD NOTICE.

DEAR WINNER,

THIS IS TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU HAVE WON A PRIZE MONEY OF ONE MILLION EURO (1,000,000 EUR) FOR THIS MONTH (JULY 2008), EURO-PW LOTTERY ONLINE PROMOTION, ALL THE E-MAIL ADDRESSES OF THE PARTICIPANTS LEGIBLE FOR THIS AWARD WERE SUBSCRIBERS FROM YAHOO, HOTMAIL AND OTHER E-MAIL SERVICE PROVIDERS WORLDWIDE.

ONLY FIVE WINNERS EMERGE EVERY MONTH THROUGH ELECTRONIC BALLOTING SYSTEM (E.B.S.), WE CONGRATULATE YOU FOR BEEN ONE OF THE EURO-PW v6.0 WINNER.

PLEASE CONTACT OUR APPROVED AGENT FOR YOUR REGION WITH YOUR WINNING NUMBER AND YOUR FILLED CLAIMS VERIFICATION FORM BELOW.

WINNING NUMBER: EPWL/200-020/300
EURO-PW LOTTERY v6.0.

CLAIMS VERIFICATION FORM.
FULL NAMES .
ADDRESS .
NATIONALITY .
COUNTRY .
TEL/FAX .
AGE/SEX .
MARITAL STATUS .
OCCUPATION .


CONGRATULATIONS FROM ALL MEMBERS OF STAFF OF EURO-PW LOTTERY.

NINA T. FRIJTERS (Mrs.)
DIRECTOR; CLAIMS DEPARTMENT.
TEL: 31-622-594-095
E-MAIL: nina.frijters1@msn.com
FROM: CLARK GREGG


NOTE: ALL CORRESPONDENCE SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO nina.frijters1@msn.com

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam