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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:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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.
  • +447011147806 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:59:06 -0400
Subject: YOU HAVE WON:CONTACT(mr-markjames21@live.com)

Attn: Winner,

You have won the sum of £850,000. (Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand
Great British Pounds) from UNITED KINGDOM LOTTERY in our 2008 charity
bonanza.

The winning ticket was selected from a Data Base of Internet E-mail
Users, from which your e-mail address came out as one of our lucky
winners.

To file for your claim, please contact our claims agent;

Contact Person Mr. Mark James
Email: mr-markjames21@live.com
Tel phone: +44 701 114 7806
Fax Number: +44 709 288 5431

Provide him with the information below:

1.Full Name:
2.Address:
3.Marital Status:
4.Occupation:
5.Age:
6.Sex:
7.Nationality:
8.Country Of Residence:
9.Telephone Number:
10.Fax Number:
11.Email Address:

Congratulations once again.

Regards,
Mrs. Albano Maria C.
Online coordinator for UNITED KINGDOM LOTTERY.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam