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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:
  • "claims agent" (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!
• 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.
  • +2348038008671 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: harrypeterson231@live.com
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:28:21 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR EMAIL WON $500,000,00USD

Ref: 575061725 Batch: 8056490902/188 Winning no: GB8701/LPRC Dear Lucky Winner, We are delighted to inform you of your prize release on the 17th November, 2008 from the Australia Lottery program.You hereby have been approved a lump sum pay of $500,000.00 (FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS) in cash credit file ref: ILP/HW47509/07. All participant were selected through a computer balloting system drawn form Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia, United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Oceanic as part of our international promotions program which is conducted annually. HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE? Simply contact our claims agent In Nigeria, Dr Harry Peterson at (harrypeterson231@live.com) TEL, +234 803 800 8671. Please quote your reference, batch and winning number which can be found on the top left corner of this notification as well as your full name, address,telephone number,which will be use for the transfer of your winnings. Note, all winnings MUST be claimed by the 30th December, 2008. Best Regards Mrs. Michelle Davidson (coordinator)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam