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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• 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:
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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:
  • ",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.
  • +447035948659 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • agent_davidoliver1@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: agent_davidoliver1@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:15:26 -0300
Subject: Email Alert

Dear Sir/ Madam,

The prestigious Microsoft and AOL has set out and successfully organized a
Sweepstakes marking the year 2008 anniversary we rolled out over US$
400,419,864 for our Mid-year Anniversary Draws. Participants for the draws
were randomly selected and drawn from a wide range of web hosts which we
enjoy their patronage.

The selection was made through a computer draw system attaching
personalized email addresses to ticket numbers. If you ignore this massage,
you will defiantly regret it later. Microsoft and AOL are now the largest
Internet companies & in effort to make sure that Internet Explorer remain
the most widely used program, Microsoft and AOL are running an e-mail beta
test. Your email address as indicated was drawn and attached to reference
and ticket number 008795727498 with serial numbers MIC-AOL/8302/08 and
drew the lucky numbers 14-18-25-39-53-47 (10) which subsequently won you £
1,000,000 ( One Million Great Britain Pounds) as one of the jackpot
winner in this draw. You have therefore won the entire winning sum of £
1,000,000 (One Million Great Britain Pounds) the draws registered as Draw
number one was conducted in Liverpool, UK on the 11th of November, 2008.
These Draws are commemorative and as such special.

Please be informed by this winning notification to file your claims
immediately. You are advised to make contact to your referred agent who
shall by duty guide you through the process to facilitate the release of
your winning prize. To file for this claims, Please Contact your referred
agent with your verification information as required on the form below,
beginning the claims of your winnings funds as conducted by the lottery
company.

We dedicate our special thanks & gratitude to Bill Gates {Now Retired from
Microsoft Corporations} .We wish you the best of luck as you spend your
good fortune in this season.

Note: You have Two (2) weeks from the date of this publication to claim
your prize or you may forfeit your winnings. Thank you for being part of
our commemorative mid-year Anniversary Draws.

Find below your referred agent and the verification form:

Address: 18 SOUTH DRIVE, HEPWORTH,DISS,NORFOLK, IP22 2HF, UK.
Contact Agent: Mr. David Oliver
Tel: +44-703-594-8659
+44-703-193-6872
Fax: +44-702-897-9987
Email: agent_davidoliver1@yahoo.com.hk


Name: ..................................
Country of Origin.......................
Place of Residence......................
Occupation..............................
Sex/Age.................................
Telephone/Fax...........................
Winning Email ID........................

NOTE: DUE TO FRAUDSTERS, WE HAVE DECIDED TO EFFECT TRANSFER TO YOUR BANK
ACCOUNT ONLY AND WHEN CONTACTING YOUR REFERRED AGENT, DO QUOTE YOUR TICKET
NUMBER AND SERIAL NUMBER FOR SECURITY REASONS.


Revista Caatinga
Public Relations Officer
Microsoft Corporation

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam