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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• 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.
  • +447031995650 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: fidubriandesk@hotmail.com
Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:02:36 GMT
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?YOU_HAVE_WON_=A31=2C850=2C000?=




WINNING NOTIFICATION=3A
We happily announce to you the Online promo result of the UK
NATIONAL LOTTERY=2Conline Sweepstakes International programme held on 21=
st =

October=2C 2008 in London=2C UNITED-KINGDOM=2E Your e-mail address
attached to Serial number 5368/02=2Clucky number 6-10-11-19-22-46-40 wo=
n you
the lottery in the 2nd category i=2Eematch 5=2E You have therefore been =
approved
to claim a total sum of
=A31=2C850=2C000( One Million Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand POUNDS
STERLING)=2C credited to file ktu/9023118308/03=2E This is from a
total cash prize of =A318=2C745=2C605 Pounds=2C shared amongst the fir=
st
thirteen (13) lucky winners in this category of all world wide email
address in the Microsoft and commerce database used for the draw=2E
To file for your claim=2C please contact our claims agent With the
below details(HLP FORM)=3B
Official=3A Brian Adams
Email=3A fidubriandesk=40hotmail=2Ecom
Tel=3A +44 703 1995 650 =

(HLP FORM)
1=2EFull Name=3A
2=2EFull Address=3A
3=2EMarital Status=3A
4=2EOccupation=3A
5=2EAge=3A
6=2ESex=3A
7=2ENationality=3A
8=2ECountry Of Residence=3A
9=2ETelephone Number=3A


Yours Truly=2C
John Moore
Co-ordinator(Online Promo Programme=7D

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam