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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "lottery winners international e-mail programs" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "foreign service manager" (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)
• 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.
  • +34657548514 (Spain, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • greglouisconsul@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Mrs Mary Lesedi <cullscottage@eircom.net>
Reply-To: "johnlesedi1@hotmail.com" <johnlesedi1@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:27:32 +0100 (IST)
Subject: Your Email Won The Prize




Your Email Won The Prize
The Spanish Hotball Lotto
REFERENCE #:87/825/TRH
BATCH #: MEG-749-873-439

Sir/Madam,

Being officially assigned to select winners across the globe, the
management is pleased to inform you of the result of the Hot Lotto Spanish
Lottery Winners International E-mail programs held on the 29th August,2008
and result was released on the 25th September,2008. Your E-mail address
attached to ticket number 653-908-321-675 with serial main number
528-127-196 drew lucky star numbers 25-78-54-36-49 which consequently won
in the 2nd category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay
out of EUR1.500.000.00 Pounds, with REFERENCE No.:87/825/TRH and BATCH #:
MEG-749-873-439.

Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning
information confidential until your claims have been processed and your
money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid
double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some
participants. All participants were selected through a computer ballot
system drawn from over 100,000 company and 50,000,000 individual email
addresses and names from all over the world.

This lottery was promoted and sponsored by Software companies in order to
enhance and
promote the use of Internet Explorer Users and Microsoft-wares around the
globe.
To file for your claim, please contact our foreign service manager:
Mr Louis E. Greg
email:greglouisconsul@gmail.com
Tel: +34 657 548 514
Foreign Service Manager

Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for
being part of our
promotional program.

Sincerely,
Carmen Rodriguez
International Online Co-ordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam