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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:
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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 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:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "united state dollar" (this email uses bad English)
  • "i have a new email address!" (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)
• 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 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.
  • rowlandtaylor40@yahoo.com
  • mikesmith2000620006@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: (sent from abused email account)
Reply-To: mikesmith2000620006@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:01:16 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Ref: UK- 9420X2- 68


I have a new email address!You can now email me at: rowlandtaylor40@yahoo.com



- THE NATIONAL LOTTERY ,TOLPITS LANE, WATFORD HERTS WD18 9RN, UNITED KINGDOM. (Ref: UK- 9420X2- 68 Batch: 074-05-ZY369). We are pleased to inform you of the final announcement of winners of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY ONLINE PROMO PROGRAMME, Held in the month of November, 2008. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 56475600545 188 with Serial Number: 472-9768-79 drew the winning numbers: 8-66-97-22-65-5 and a bonus number of 24 which subsequently won you the Lottery in the second category. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of $950.000 (Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand United State Dollars Only) in cash credited to KTU/9023118308/03, that was credited to your email address payable in three mode 1. Cash Payment 2. Check Payment 3. Bank transfer. All participants of this online promotion programmed were Selected randomly from numerous World Wide Web sites through computer draw system and extracted from close to 125,000 Unions. Your assigned claims agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you conct him via electronic mail (email). To file for your claim, contact the claim agent. Mr. Mike Smith on his email address: mikesmith2000620006@hotmail.com with the following details YOUR FULL NAME, ADDRESS, SEX, AGE, PHONE NUMBER, OCCUPATION, BATCH NUMBER, SERIAL NUMBER and YOUR WINNING EMAIL. Once again congratulations. Best Regards. Rowland Taylor (Lottery Coordinator)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam