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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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• 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:

• 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: Greg Macklin <verificationdept@uk-nationalpromo.org>
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 09:21:31 +0000
Subject: Verification Form



Ref: UK/9420X2/68Batch: 074/05/ZY369 Dear Winner,Congratulations once again from all the staff here. Inorder to verify your winnings, we need yourparticulars for record purposes. All participants for this online version wereselected randomly from World Wide Web sites through computer draw system andextracted fromover 100,000 unions, associations, and corporate bodies that arelisted online. This promotion takes place weekly. Please note thatyour lucky winning number falls within our European bookletrepresentative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon. For securityreasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claim is processed and your money remitted to you inwhatever manner you deem fit to receive your prize. This is part ofour precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarrantedabuse of this program. Attached here is acopy of our verifications form, please fill accordingly so as to proceed with your winnings. Be informed that the full namesthat will appear on this form will be used in receipt of the check. Onceagain congratulations from all the staff.VERIFICATION FORM1.FULL NAMES:__________________________________2.ADDRESS:_________________________________________________________________________________________3.SEX:_______________4.AGE:________5.MARITAL STATUS:___________________6.OCCUPATION:________________________7.E-MAIL ADDRESS AND ALTERNATE EMAIL ADDRESS:_____________________________8.TELEPHONE NUMBER:_____________________9.DRAW NUMBER:______________10.WINNING NUMBER__________________11.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COMPANY/INDIVIDUAL___________12.AMOUNT WON:______________________________________________________________________________ 13.NATIONALITY:___________________________________14. STATE:__________________________________15. COUNTRY________________________________Upon receipt of the duly requested data, I will sendyou the contact information of the payment office so you can proceed witheffecting the release of your claim in anyway you deem fit.Warm Regards,Greg Macklin

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam