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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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• 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:
  • "fudiciary" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "00,000.00" (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!

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:40:50 -0400
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?CONGRATULATIONS_YOU_HAVE_WON_=A3500,000.00?=


CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE WON £500,000.00
BRITISH INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY INC.
5th Floor East Commonwealth Centre
55 Currie Street London L70 1NL.
United Kingdom.

Dear Winner,
This e-mail is to inform you that your e-mail address has won you the sum of £500,000.00(Five Hundred Thousand Pounds Sterling) from the BRITISH INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY. For your payment, you are required to contact our fudiciary agent with the below contact details:
CONTACT PERSON: MR. Henry James
Email: henjames_btll@live.co.uk<mailto:henjames_btll@live.co.uk>
You are also required to contact him with the below information.
Batch: 12/25/0340
Ref: BTL/101OXI/02
INFORMATION REQUESTED:
(a) Your full Name:
(b) Contact address:
(c) Your Telephone and fax numbers:
(d) Your Age:
(e) Your occupation:
(f) Your country of origin:

Regards,
Mrs. Tracy Ann Jackson
Online Co-ordinator.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam