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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• 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.
• 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.
  • +447024055206 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • claimsagent_parker_james@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: THE NATIONAL LOTTERY <james_parker_claimsagent@yahoo.com.hk>
Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 06:57:29 -0300
Subject: REF NO: UK/9420X2/68(CONGRATULATIONS!!!)


FROM:The National Lottery
P O Box 1010
Liverpool, L70 1NL
UNITED KINGDOM
(Customer Services)
REF NO: UK/9420X2/68
BATCH NO:074/05/ZY369
 
AWARD WINNING APPROVAL: CONGRATULATIONS!!!
We are pleased to inform you of the announcement today of winners of
The National Lottery PROGRAMS held on 29th of July 2006. Your company
or your personal e-mail address is attached to ticket number
56475600545 188, with serial number S/N-00180 drew the lucky numbers
5368/02, and consequently won in the 2nd  lottery category.
You have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of
£3,987,470.00(Three Million,Nine Hundred And Eighty Seven
Thousand,Four Hundred And Seventy pounds sterlings) in cash credited
to file KTU/9023118308/03.
 
This is from a total cash prize of £11,962,410.00 shared
amongst the first Four (3) lucky winners in this category. All participants
were selected through our Computer ballot system drawn from 21,000 names,3,000 names from each continent, as part of International Promotions
Program.Your fund has been deposited in an escrow account with our
affiliate bank here in UK, and insured with your REF NO:
KTU/9023118308/03  and your E-mail address. You are to keep your TICKET NO. REF NO. BATCH NO. and SERIAL NO. From the public, until you have been processed and your money remitted to your personal account.
 
To claim your winning prize, you must first contact the claims
department by email for processing and remittance of your prize money
to you.
Your assigned claims officer contact email is:
------------------------------------------------
Mr. James Parker
Email:claimsagent_parker_james@yahoo.com.hk
TEL:+447024055206
 
NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please
remember to quote your ticket, reference, batch and serial numbers in
all correspondences with your claims officer.
 
Yours faithfully,
Ronald Gerrad
The National Lottery

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam