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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
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• 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:

• 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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million 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)
• 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.
  • +31643055368 (Netherlands, 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.
  • dpagencynl@netscape.net (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "NOTIFICATION CENTRE" <infodepartment@victorwillinfo.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 21:12:57 +0000
Subject: EURO 2007 AWARD.


EURO 2007 AWARD.
Ref: Number: MCX /2852306/06
Batch Number: NL/87403/NED

Dear Sir/Madam,
We happily announce to you on our recently concluded draw of EURO MILLIONS
LOTTERY INT. Bv, online Sweepstakes International program held on the 15th of March, 2007 and that you are one of the FIVE LUCKY WINNERS and your email address is attached to
-Lucky numbers #: 1-9-9-71-43-05-8
-Ticket Numbers #: M384/541/182D
-SecurityFile #: DMX/802106/NL
which subsequently won in the 2nd category. As a result of this, you
have been approved to claim a total sum of $1,000,000.00 (ONE MILLION UNITED
STATES DOLLARS)in cash credited to security-file numbers-DMX/802106/NL from a
total Cash of 20million United States Dollars.
Be informed that all participants were selected randomly from World
Wide Web-sites through computerized ballot system drawn from over 70,000
individuals and corporate bodies that are listed online.No tickets were
sold.This promotion takes place Monthly and it is sponsor by
Micro-soft,Dell ,Grundig Electronics,Acer, Shells,Infosys etc to
mention but a few and the sole purpose of this program is to encourage
computer globalization.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!
After this automated computer ballot, your e-mail address emerged as
one of the lucky winners in the 2nd Category and your prize award has been
insured with your e-mail address and will be transferred to you upon meeting
our requirements, statutory obligations,verifications,validations and
satisfactory report.
Please note that your lucky winning numbers falls within our European
booklet representative office as indicated in this notification.
In view of this, your winning sum of $1,000,000(One Million United
States Dollars)would be released to you by our payment/representatives in your
preferred mode of payment.
Please,to file in for your claim,contact our Claim Agents:

DPA FINANCIAL AGENCY BV
MR. ERIC VAN HANS
(OPERATIONAL DIRECTOR)
Tel: +31-643-055-368.
Fax: +31-847-167-290.
Contact Email Address: dpagencynl@netscape.net
Please,remember that all winnings must be claimed within 15 days prior
to the receipt of this notification and after this period all unclaimed
fund will be declared null and void.
Please, remember to furnish our claim agents with the following winning/claim requirements:
1. Full Names & Address
2. Tel/Fax Numbers.
Due to mix-up, you are advise to quote your reference and Batch numbers
in all correspondence as this will avoid delay and complications in the
processing of your winning.For security reasons, you are advised to
keep your winning information confidential till your claim is processed and
your winning fund is remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to
claim your prize.This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double
claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program.This is important as a
case of double claim will not be tolerated.
Also staff and members of an affiliated agencies are not eligible to
participate in this program.Please be warned.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs.Diana Kok
Lottery Manager
This email may contain confidential and/or privileged information. The information is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity named above.If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure,copying, distribution or use of the contents is prohibited.
If you have received this electronic transmission in error,please notify the sender by telephone or return email and delete the material from your computer.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam