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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
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• 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:

• 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:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",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.
  • +447045710656 (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.
  • swisshelpline447@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Schelling, Mandi" <mschelli@nwciowa.edu>
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:16:42 -0500
Subject: Prize Package


Swiss Online Lottery
Corporate Headquarters,
United Kingdom.
Web Site: www.swisslotto.ch


We are delighted to inform you of your prize release on the 23th July 2008 from the Swiss Online Lottery programme.

You hereby have been approved a lump sum of £1,000,000,00. GBP, all participant were selected through a computer balloting system drawn from Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses all over the World as part of our international promotions program which is conducted quarterly.

Kindly note that you will only be chosen to receive the award once, which means that subsequent yearly award will not get to you again. Take time and thought in spending the funds wisely on a project that will s tand the test of time.

You are advised to contact your fiduciary agent with the following details to avoid unnecessary delays and complications.

Your Name (In Full):
Telephone Number:
Address:
Sex:
Age:
Occupation:
Country:

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE,
Simply contact our fiduciary agent, Dr. Kent Russell at
Email: swisshelpline447@hotmail.com
Tel: +44 704 5710 656
Web Site: www.swisslotto.ch

On behalf of the Board kindly, accept our warmest congratulations.

Mrs. Carol Gabriel
(Online Announcer).

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam