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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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• 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 phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "abuja" (a location commonly mentioned in 419 scams)
• 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.
  • +2348072238505 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • exxonmobil_award@sify.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "THE EXXONMOBIL OIL AND GAS COMPANY" <infoexxon@vip.cybercity.dk>
Reply-To: exxonmobil_award@sify.com
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:34:08 +0200
Subject: YOUR EMAIL HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE

THE EXXONMOBIL OIL COMPANY/COLEGAS OIL COMPANY
PLOT 1 - 16 EXXON-MOBIL, WUSE ZONE 2,
WUSE, ABUJA. NIGERIA.

Attn: Exxon-Mobil/ColeGas Beneficiary

THE EXXON-MOBIL/COLEGAS COMPANY OFFICIAL PRIZE NOTIFICATION.
You have been selected in the on-going EXXON-MOBIL e-mail award programme
held this Month. We the promo board are pleased to inform you that, you
alongside four(4) other lucky winners have been approved for a payment of
$386,500.00 USD. (Three hundred and Eighty-Six thousand, Five Hundred United
States Dollars) in cash.

Your verification number is: (EM-389-6373,FGN/P-073-92).

Contact the claims officer below, for directives and guidelines to claim your
prize. See details of claims processing officer below;

CLAIMS PROCESSING OFFICER:
Mr. Fred Ifah
EMAIL: exxonmobil_award@sify.com
Phone: (+234) 80722 38505

1.full name
2.Home Address:
3.Age:
4.Phone Number:
5.Occupation.
6.Amount Won:
7.Annual Income(Optional).

With Regards,

Online Cordinator
Exxon-Mobil Oil Company.

Co-sponsors of this online promotion are listed herein: Shell Oil Company,
ColeGas Liquified Natural Gas and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam