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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• 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.
  • +447035931129 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Romero, Rachelle" <ups.ng@8u8.com>
Reply-To: claims.dept@british-lttry.co.uk
Date: Sun, 01 Mar 2009 03:12:49 -0800
Subject: Your E-Mail Has Won

Attn: Sir / Madam,

This is to bring to your notice that your e-mail address have just won the sum amount of 850,000.00 GBP from our online Bonanza Promotion for February 2009.With the bellow winning information's:Winning Number:88-08-34-46 {97}

To claim your winning cash prize you are to contact:
Mr.Cole Anderson
Email:claims.dept@british-lttry.co.uk
Tel: +44 703 593 1129
British Lottery Board

You are to provide the following details for the
release of your claim.
1.FULL NAMES:
2.CONTACT ADDRESS:
3.AGE:
4.SEX:
5.MARITAL STATUS:
6.NATIONALITY:
7.TELEPHONE NUMBER:
8.OCCUPATION:
9.WINNING E-MAIL ADDRESS:
10.WINNING NUMBER:

Congratulations once again.
Regards,
Ms.Romero Rachelle
Lottery Co-Ordinator/Announcer

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam