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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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
• 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.
  • +447011151111 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: United Nations <info@un-uk.org>
Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 16:37:43 +0000
Subject: Confirmation



Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you very much for writing to the United Nations in regards to the authenticity of your winning status.

After several investigations, it has been revealed by the central board of the Zurich Lotterien that your e-mail address your e-mail address attached to serial number 02-87-87 drew the lucky number 4-11-41-26-02-62, which consequently emerged as one of first ten (10) lucky winners in the United Kingdom category.

They further explained that you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay off of €1,000,000.00 (One Million EURO) in cash credited to file ZL/07/4007 from the 50 million euros shared among 50 winners.

We hereby confirm the authenticity of your winnings and urge you to claim your prize funds at you earliest convenience.

Congratulations, and thanks for contacting this board.

Sincerely,

Bauman Boyne.
United Nations (UK 213)
Tel: +44-701-115-1111
Fax: +44 -870-478-9790

E-mail:info@un-uk.org
Website:http://www.un.org

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Before acting on the contents of this e-mail, the recipient should verify that the originator has the appropriate authority and any person neglecting to obtain such verification will be acting entirely at his/her own risk.
Please further note that any confidential or private information contained in the message is subject to legal privilege.
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam