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:
- "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
- ",000,000" (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)
- ",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)
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.
- +2348106480675
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.
- globalfundsmanagementt@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Carla Morris" <concom@yeah.net>
Reply-To: padams6411@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 03 Dec 2015 06:04:28 -0600
Subject: =?utf-8?Q?Spam?=
Congratulations!!!

Sir/Madam,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners International programs held on the 13th of October, 2015. Your e-mail id attached to ticket number 27522465896-6453 with serial number 3772-554 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-31-45 which consequently won in the second category. You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of $2,500,000usds (Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars Only).

CONGRATULATIONS! Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims has been processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants.

All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from over 30,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This promotional program takes place every three years. This lottery was promoted and sponsored by eminent personalities like Mr. Bill Gates and the Sultan of Brunei, we hope with part of your winnings you will take part in our next years 10 million Euros international lottery.

To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agents: Mr. Brown Peters of GLOBAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT,African Continent. Telephone number: +234 810 6480675, Fax Line: +234 7921452, Email: globalfundsmanagementt@gmail.com

Remember, all winnings must be claimed not later than 10th of November, 2015. After this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake. To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all correspondence to our fiduciary agents. Furthermore, should there be any changes of your address, please do inform our agents as soon as possible.

Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program.

Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.

Sincerely yours,

Carla Morris (Co-coordinator)
GLOBAL FUNDS SWEEPSTAKES LOTTERY/INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam