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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:

• 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:
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",500,000" (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)
• 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.
  • +447024075506 (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.
  • claim_mrwoutermiller@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "MICROSOFTWORD AWARD 2008" <claim_mrwoutermiller@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:48:54 -0400
Subject:

DEAR ESTEEMED WINNER
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Microsoft Word
International Promotions Program held earlier this year 2008. Your e-mail address attached to Winning number 20-26Dec-2007-02MSW, serial number S/N-00168, drew the lucky numbers 887-13-865-37-10-83 which consequently won in the 1st category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of 500,000.00 GBP This is from total prize money of GBP
2,500,000.00 POUNDS shared among the five international winners in this
category. To claim your kindly submit the completed form to yourverification unit by email:

VERIFICATION FORM BELOW:
Name of Winner:--------
Address:----------------
City/State:-------------
Nationlity:-------------
Sex:--------------------
Email:------------------
Phone no:---------------
Occupation:-------------
Age: -------------------
Amount won:-------------


The claims officer contact email is:
Name: Mr. Wouter Miller
E-mail: claim_mrwoutermiller@hotmail.com
TEL:+447024075506

Yours faithfully
Brain Hunt
Online Co-ordinator




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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam