419 Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam (2006-01)

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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

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.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

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.
This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "affidavit of claim" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "stamp duty" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. NEVER send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally - NO EXCEPTIONS! Instant wire transfer services are not meant to be used with strangers because they offer no protection against fraud. That is precisely why the criminals want you send money that way. )
- "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- "hundred thousand united states dollars" (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)
- "affidavit " (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
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.
- tupouana74@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Heineken Bottling company <heinekendesktop11@yahoo.com.ph>
Reply-To: tupouana74@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:55:14 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?=AE_CONGRATULATIONS!_=AE_YOU_HAVE_WON_=24500=2C_000=2E00_?=
=?iso-8859-1?Q?=AE_FROM_THE_HEINEKEN_COMPANY_PROMOTION_!!!?=

HEINEKEN
BOTTLING COMPANY
ANTHONIE VAN DIJCKERWEG
11078 AMSTERDAM

NETHERLANDS

THE HEINEKEN COMPANY
SEASONAL PROMOTION!

Dear Lucky Winner,

We are delighted to inform you the
result of the annual final draws of Heineken
Annual
Promo.

The online Heineken Annual
Promo draws was conducted by a random selection of E-mail

addresses from an
exclusive list of 29,031 E-mail

addresses
of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated
random computer (TOPAZ) search from the internet. However, no tickets
were sold but all E-mail addresses were assigned to different ticket
numbers for representation and privacy.

After this automated computer ballot, your E-mail

address emerged as one of the Eight (8)

lucky winners in the fourth category for the second prize
with the following data:

Ref Number: ASL/941OYI/02/SHYN

Batch Number: HGL-14/28/0046

Ticket Number: 025-11464992-750

You
as well as the other winners, are therefore to receive a cash prize of
five hundred thousand united states dollars (US$500,000.00) for the
total payout.

Your prize award has been insured with your E-mail
address and will be transferred to you upon meeting the requirements,
statutory obligations, verifications, validations and satisfactory
report. Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European representative
office
in Amsterdam, Holland, as indicated in your play coupon and your prize
of US$500,000.00 will be released to you from your regional branch
office.

You are required to fill and
Submit the below information to the Processing management via e-mail.

1. Full name:.............................

2.
Country:........................

3. Contact Address:.......................

4. Telephone...............................

5. fax Number:.............................

6. Marital Status:............................

7. Occupation:................................

8. Age:..........................................
9.

Sex:.................................

Your
Reference and Batch number at the top of this E-mail: Please you are
advised to complete the form and send it immediately to your claims
agent via e-mail below for prompt collection of your fund.

Overseas Claims/ London,UK Payment Unit

Contact your claim agent: Mrs. Ana Tupou
Email: tupouana74@hotmail.com

Your claims agent will submit
your information to the authorized Paying Bank.

For security reasons, we
advise all winners to keep this information confidential from the public
until your claim is processed and your prize released to you. This

is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and
unwarranted taking advantage of this program by non-participant or
unofficial personnel.

All winnings MUST be claimed before the
end of this programmed; otherwise all funds will be returned as
Unclaimed and eventually donated to the charity

organizations.

THESE BELOW ARE VERY IMPORTANT FOR PAYMENT:

AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM

CERTIFICATE OF OWNERSHIP

STAMP DUTY

Thank you and Accept our
congratulations once again!

Yours faithfully,

Mrs.

Carol Williams

HEINEKEN

Games/Lottery Coordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam