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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:
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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:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million pounds" (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)
  • "courier service" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "courier company" (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.
  • +447035937256 (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.
  • tntunitdispatch10@yahoo.com.hk

Fraud email example:

From: <winnings@uklottery.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2008 20:08:46 +0000
Subject: Batch: 074/05/ZY369 Ref: UK/9420X2/68

The National Lottery,
P O Box 1010,
L70 1NL Liverpool,
UNITED KINGDOM
(Customer Services)
Batch: 074/05/ZY369
Ref: UK/9420X2/68
Date:22/09/2008

WINNING NOTIFICATION

We wish to congratulate you over your email success in our computer
balloting held on the 22nd September 2008. This is a Scientific Computer
Game in which email addresses were used. It is a promotional program
aimed at encouraging internet users; Meaning, you do not need to buy
ticket to enter for it.our e-mail address attached to ticket
number:56475600545 188, with Serial number 5368/02, drew the
lucky numbers:02-05-13-30-39-49-03(bonus no.), which subsequently
won you the lottery in the 2nd category i.ematch 5 plus bonus.
You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of
2,000,000 (Two million pounds sterling)
in cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/03

This is from a total cash prize of 8,000,000 shared amongst the
first four (4) lucky winners in this category i.e Match 5 plus
bonus.All participants were selected through a computer balloting system
drawn from Eight hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada,
Australia, United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and
Oceania as part of our international promotions program which is
conducted annually. This Lottery was promoted and sponsored by a
conglomerate of some multinational companies to promote the use
of internet around the world. This promotion takes place periodically.

Please note that your Original Certificate and your Certified bank
cheque has been forwarded to the courier company.
Find below the details of the courier company.

TNT COURIER SERVICE

NAME:MR MICHAEL RICHESON (dispatch officer)
EMAIL:tntunitdispatch10@yahoo.com.hk
Email:tntdispatch@strompost.org

Tel: +447035937256
Tel: +447023014877
Fax: +448700685766

You are advised to send the courier company a mail to their email
address for their courier cost.When contacting them,you are to
include your order number as your subject.

ORDER NUMBER:TNT-M562785

Note: you are to furnished the courier company with the following
details so that they can honour your letter.

1.Full Names:
2.Contact Address:
3.Sex:
4.Age:
5.Marital Status:
6.Occupation:
7.Email Address:
8.Telephone Number:
9.Ref Number:
10.Batch Number:
11.Country:
12.Order Number:

We advice all winners to keep this information confidential from
the public until your claim is processed and your prize delivered
to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double
claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this programme by
non-participant or unofficial personnel.

Once again congratulations...

Warm regards,


Timothy Peters
Claims Agent,
whitchurch,hantsuk.
UK National Lottery
Sweepstakes International Program.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam