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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
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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "irish lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "fudiciary" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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 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.
  • ir.terrycole@hotmail.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "The Irish Lottery" <d0020@bellsouth.net>
Reply-To: ir.terrycole@hotmail.co.uk
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:04:53 +0000
Subject: Success Alert, You Have Won =?utf-8?Q?=C2=A3800?=,000.00


11 G Lower Dorset Street
Dublin 1
Ireland=20

Result: http://www.irishlotto.net/

This electronic mail is to inform you that you have
won the sum of =C2=A3800,000.00 (GBP) in the
Irish Lottery Official On-Line Drawing.
=20
=20
The official drawing for the aforementioned jackpot
was performed at the greater Dublin Office of the
Irish Lottery Commission at 12:01pm on July 26,
2008, and was overseen by the accounting firm of House
& Beckermann LLC. In the above noted drawing, your
contact Email was selected from a pool of
24,667,309 potential winners.
=20
Your winning Numbers are;
Winning Num: 23, 30, 32, 36, 39, 40, Bonus 34
Batch Num: Batch: R3/A312-59
Reference Num: Ref: LSUK/2031/8161/05

For additional information you must contact the=20
commission's fiduciary agent In the United Kingdom=20
at the below noted email address;

Mr. Terry Cole (Fiduciary Agent)
Email: ir.terrycole@hotmail.co.uk
=20
For verification please provide your:

1.Full Names
2.Full Address
3.Telephone Number

and your above Batch and reference Number when responding.
=20
Thank you and congratulation.
=20
Thomas Stinson, Online Coordinator
Fudiciary & Notification Department=20
Lottery Commission of Ireland.
=20

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam