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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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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • " lotto international " (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • ",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)
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: "MEGA MILLION LOTTO ITALIA" <bancaitaly_affiliate@libero.it> (may be fake)
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 02:40:41 +0200
Subject: IT IS INDEED A LUCKY FORTUNE.

MEGA MILLION LOTTO INTERNATIONAL Customer Service 20124 Milano -Italy Milano:Italy Ref: EAASL/941OYI/06 Batch: 03/06/MA34 WINNING:NOTIFICATION: We happily announce to you the draw of the MEGA MILLION LOTTO INTERNATIONAL Lottery :International programs held on the 2ND of JuLY 2007 in Milano:Italy your Contact address attached to Serial:number 5388/06 drew the lucky Barch:numbers: 31-6-26-13-35-7, which subsequently won you the lottery i n the 2nd category. We have to send your lucky price to you on the 2ND August 2007 .You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of 2,000,000.00 Euro(two million Euro) in cash credited to file KPC/9080118308/06.This is from a total cash prize of Ten Million Euro(10 million Euro), shared amongst the first five (5th) lucky winners in this category.Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our Milano:booklet representative office in Italy as indicated in your play coupon.In view of this, your 2,000,000.00 Euro(two million Euro) would be released to you by the agent. SANTA LUCIA SECURITY COMPANY S.A. in MILAN ITALY.your agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact them. All participants were selected randomly from World Wide Web site through computer draw system and extracted from over 300,000 companies. This promotion takes place annually. For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize. This is part of our precautionary measures to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous elements. Please be warned. To file for your claim, please contact our fiducial agent: SANTA LUCIA SECURITY COMPANY S.A. MILAN ITALY Name:Godwin Robert TEL: 0039-334-7454891 Email: bancaitaly_affiliate@libero.it, To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please quote your reference/batch numbers in any correspondences with us or our designated agent. Congratulations once more from all members and staffs of this program. Yours Sincerely, J. WILLIAMS Lottery Director.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam