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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "director of operations foreign remittance division" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "foreign remittance division" (Banks mentioned in 419 scams are always fake (real banks don't communicate using mobile phones or free webmail addresses))
• 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.
  • +447045708860 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +447092884926 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: NatWest Customer Relations <customerservice_nat@natwesttbank.net>
Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2007 22:01:57 +0000
Subject: ACCOUNT ACTIVATION








Date: 8th March,
2007
NAT
WEST BANK
PLC THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
FOREIGN REMITTANCE DIVISION
183 Marsh
Wall, London NE14 9SR
TEL ++44 70457
08860
FAX:+ 447092884926
Attention : Valued
customer,

My office has just received your winning information from the
OPRAH WINFREY TV GAMESHOW PROMO;
as a
matter of procedure ,appropriate verifications have been
conducted and I bring to your notice that you have been
cleared/certified for the lump sum payout of your winnings Promo
Prize.
With
respect to the above certification, it is my duty to bring to
your notice that appropriate measures have been taken to ensure the
security of your Promo Prize. In the light of this a hard cover
insurance policy has been placed on your winnings , (which implies
that your winnings cannot be tampered with until in your custody)
,which have been deposited in a suspense account within our
bank. The mode of the payout of your
winnings, stipulated by the lottery organizers is BANK TO BANK
transfer , consequently you will be required to activate an account
with our esteemed bank into which your winnings will be transferred
into prior to onward transfer to your domestic account in your
location of residence. Considering the amount of money which you
have won and also to guarantee a successful and hitch free transfer
, the wire transfer permissible account options have been
classified . You will be required to to choose that which
will be most convenient and appropriate for you
: 1.
Standard Classic Account :
a) Activation
Deposit ........£200.00 b)Transfer Charges .........
£ 100.00
********* TOTAL
£300.00
********* Duration of transfer ..... eight
(8) working days. 2 .Classic Account
: a) Activation Deposit
........£ 200.00 b)Transfer Charges
...........£ 150.00
********* TOTAL
£350.00
********* Duration of transfer ..... Five (5) working
days. 3.Premium Account
: a) Activation Deposit
........£ 200.00 b)Transfer Charges
...........£ 200.00
********* TOTAL
£400.00
********* Duration of transfer ..... Three (3) working
days. *NOTE THAT ALL CALCULATIONS HAVE BEEN
MADE IN GREAT
BRITAIN POUNDS (GBP) AND THERE IS AN OPTION OF
MAKING DEPOSIT OR ITS EQUIVALENT IN YOUR LOCAL
CURRENCY. THE DURATION OF TRANSFER IS WITH RESPECT TO THE ACTUAL
DATE WHEN THE TRANSFER COMMENCES AND THE ACTIVATION DEPOSIT
CAN BE TRANSFERRED WITH THE PRIZE MONEY IF DESIRED NO
MONEY WILL BE DEDUCTED FROM YOUR ACTUAL WINNINGS AS IT HAS BEEN INSURED FOR YOUR
PERSONAL IDENTITY ALONE.. Upon your
receipt of this mail , you will be required to respond immediately
, indicating the option which is most convenient for you in order
for me to provide advise on the mode of making the deposit and also
to make the necessary arrangements to ensure the successful
transfer of your winnings to
you. Thank you for your anticipated
co-operation.
Regards, Mike Brown
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Confidentiality Note: The information contained in this
message is confidential and/or privileged. This message is intended
to be read only by the person named above. The unauthorized use,
disclosure, copying or alteration of this message is strictly
prohibited. If you are not the addressee, (or responsible for
delivery of the message to the addressee), please notify
the originator by return message and destroy the original
message.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam