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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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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:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
  • ",500,000" (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)
  • "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!
• 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.
  • +31847455835
  • +31645449390 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:12:59 -0800
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION FOR CATEGORY "A" CYBER LOTTO DRAWS

FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL PRIZE AWARD DEPT



*Ref Number: PW EH 9590 OG 0612
*Batch Number: 563881545-NL/2008
*Ticket Number: PA 3502 /8707-01
*Amount Won: USD$2,500,000.00.



WINNING NOTIFICATION FOR CATEGORY "A" CYBER LOTTO DRAWS




We are pleased to inform you of results of our cyber lotto draw of the promotional International lottery Programs.


The online electronic-raffle draws was conducted from an exclusive list of 250,000 e-mail accounts picked by our Electronic Random Selection System (ERSS) from an exclusive list

However, no tickets were sold.

After the automated computer ballot collection, your e-mail address emerged as a winner (category "A") with the following numbers attached

(Ref Number: PW EH 9590 OG 0612, Batch Number: 563881545-NL/2008 and Ticket Number: PA 3502 /8707-01

You are therefore to receive a cash prize of $2,500,000.00.

(Two Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) from the total payout sum! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Your prize award has been insured with your e-mail address and will be transferred to you immediately upon which you meet verifications.

To file in for the processing of your prize winnings, you are advised to contact our Certified claims Agent (category "A") on the address below:



Name: Mr Robert Williams
Foreign claims agent Netherlands Office.

Phone: +31645449390
Fax:+ 31 847 455 835
Email: rwilliams08@yahoo.cn


You are advised to provide him with the following information:

First name:

Last Name:

Telephone/Fax number:

Nationality:

Age:

Occupation:

You are to keep all lotto information confidential, especially your reference numbers and the password of your E-mail address. Since we do not

Know you, if an impostor hacks your E-mail account ID and claims your money without our knowledge, we shall not be liable. Double claims will not be

Entertained so be careful. Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform our agent as soon as possible.


Congratulations!!! And thank you for being a user of the World Wide Web.

Yours Faithfully,

Yuan Liang
Lottery Coordinator.
Thank you and congratulations

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam