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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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• 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:
  • "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 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.
  • paulallenlondon@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: paulallenlondon@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 05:35:45 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: GOOD NEWS


¡Tengo nueva dirección de correo!Ahora puedes escribirme a:infoorg36@yahoo.com.co



- IF YOU ARE THE CORRECT OWNER OF THIS EMAIL ADDRESS THEN BE GLAD THIS DAY AS THE RESULT OF THE UK LOTTO ONLINE E-MAIL ADDRESS FREE-TICKET WINNING DRAWS OF 1ST JUNE, 2008 HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED AND WE ARE GLAD TO ANNOUNCE TO YOU THAT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WON YOU THE SWEEPSTAKES IN THE FIRST CATEGORY AND YOU ARE ENTITLED TO CLAIM THE SUM OF US$4.6MILLION. YOUR EMAIL ADDRESSES WAS ENTERED FOR THE ONLINE DRAW ON THIS TICKET NUMBER: APP236566301307 AND WON ON THIS LUCKY NUMBER: MX014926583. YOU ARE TO CONTACT REV. DR. PAUL ALLEN ON. (paulallenlondon@yahoo.co.uk) FOR QUICK DELIVERY OF YOUR WON CHEQUE OF US$4.6M. KNOW THAT ALL WINNERS’ CHEQUE IS CERTIFIES CASHIERS AND WHEN DELIVERED AND RECEIVED BY YOU, YOU CAN CASH IT IN ANY BANK OF ANY COUNTRY. TO ENABLE REV .DR. PAUL ALLEN ASCERTAIN YOU AS THE RIGHTFUL WINNER AND RECEIVER OF THE $4.6MILLION CHEQUE, MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE THE BELOW LISTED INFORMATION IN YOUR CONTACT MAIL TO HIM. YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AND COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE/WORK, COMPLETE OFFICIAL NAMES, AMOUNT WON, FREE TICKET AND LUCKY NUMBERS, DATE OF DRAW, ADDRESS WHERE YOU WISH TO RECEIVE YOUR WINNINGS CHEQUE: ONLINE WINNING NOTIFICATION DEPARTMENT,UK LOTTERY ORGANIZATION

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam