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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")
  • ",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.
  • +447023088810 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "prensacap" <prensacap@santacruz.gov.ar>
Reply-To: office2008@luckymail.com
Date: Thu, 01 Jan 2009 06:49:36 -0300
Subject:


SWISS LOTTO INTL. PROMOTION.
Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM
https://www.swisslotto.ch


Attention: Winner,


SWISS LOTTO INTL. PROMOTION has just concluded its final draws of it's
periodical promotional program.An exclusive list of email addresses of
thousands of individual and corporate bodies were picked by automated
random computer search from the internet.No tickets were sold.Your email
address emerged as one of five(5) winners in the silver stakes category
as email addresses were soughted,from a total number of 95,000 addresses
drawn from all over the globe. After an automated computer ballot of our
International Promotions Program, only FIVE winners emerged in this
category and therefore each are to receive payouts of €1,500,000.00 from
the total of €7,500,000.00 (SEVEN MILLION,FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND
EUROS).However,every email address selected was accompanied by a
reference and ticket number, after the cyber lotto selection, the below
ticket and reference numbers emerged as one of the lucky winners in the
above category.CONGRATULATIONS!!! Reference number for your prize is:Ref.
No.-VNL/011/652659960/UK Ticket NVNL57860UKFor further processing of the
claim of your winning prize, you are to contact our UK claims Agent for
more information as regards procedures to claim your prize. Provide him
with the information below to file your Claim:


Full Names: :
Full Contact Address:
Nationality:
Country:
Telephone/ Mobile line:
Gender:
Age:
Occupation:
Next of kin:


Sir David Johnson
E-mail: office2008@luckymail.com
TEL: +447023088810



Sincerely,Jane Anderson
Promotions Manager

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam