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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "you are advice to " (this email uses bad English)
  • "dear beneficiary," (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: atm622@live.com
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:35:59 -0400
Subject: ATM 622



Our Ref: SNT/FGN/ATMG622 Your Ref: Dear Beneficiary, I am very glad
to inform you that your email emerged as one of the lucky winners to
receive this years award of a cash grant of the sum of $2 million. In
order for the winnings to be delivered to you without stress, we are
glad to officially inform you that an ATM Card has been accredited in
your favor.Your Personal identification Number is 622. The ATM Card
Value is $2 million. You are advice to contact us for more
information.

FULL NAME: DELIVERY ADDRESS: PHONE NUMBER COUNTRY: OCCUPATION:
MARITAL STATUS: SEX: AGE:

As soon as we receive the requested information, we will instruct
the courier company to deliver the prize winnings to you. Regards,
Senator Ashley Davids

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam