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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:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",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.
  • +2348068460328 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:28:10 +0100
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!! (YOUR WINNING AWARD NOTIFICATION)


YAHOO INTERNET AWARD
DATE: 29 OCTOBER,2008.
MOTTO: SOCIAL AND PUBLIC PATRONAGE TO INTERNET USERS


Dear Lucky Winner,


We are pleased to inform you of the last batch result of our YAHOO
INTERNET AWARD PROMOTION 2008/2009.The YAHOO INTERNET AWARD PROMOTION draws
was conducted from an exclusive list of 25,000,000 international e-mail
addresses of individual and corporate bodies from the (7) continents of the
world picked by an advanced automated random computer ballot search from the
internet as part of our international promotion program which YAHOO conduct
every (10) year.No tickets were sold.


After todays automated computer ballot,your e-mail address attached to
serial number 25-6565 drew the winning numbers 6-13-18-24-33-39 which
consequently emerged you as one of the last ten (10) lucky winners in this
year award.You have therefore been approved for lump sum payout of (US$
350,000.00) credited to ATM Card of file number:GB/A017/2008.This Yahoo
award was promoted and sponsored by Yahoomail only as part of their social
patronage to internet users in the communities where their is internet
operational bases and other internet users.For notice of claims of copyright
or other intellectual property infringement can be reached as follows: As
part of our security protocol,you are to quote this security code to your
claim agent/ATM Card Officer(YLAW/AUG/XX07) to prevent scam.Contact your ATM
Card releasing Bank below for your YAHOO award ATM Card prize of US$
350,000.00 with this VERIFICATION FORM BELOW:


1. FULL NAME:
2. COMPLETE PRESENT ADDRESS/COUNTRY:
3. DATE OF BIRTH:
4. OCCUPATION:
5. TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
6. SECURITY CODE:
7. WINNING AMOUNT:


Send your informations to:


Mr H.P. Fletcher,
Oceanic Bank Nigeria Plc.
Position: ATM Card Officer
Telephone: +2348068460328
Email: oceanicconsultants@live.com


For security reason,we advice all winners to keep this award confidential
from the public notice until your claim is processed and your prize
nreleased to you.This is part of our security protocol to avoid double
claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this program by non-selected
winner or un-official personnel.


Congratulations once again from all members of our staffs.


Yours Sincerely,
Mrs Anna Anderson,
Notification Officer.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam