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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

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:
  • "microsoft lottery" (no such lottery exists)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "foreign service manager" (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)
  • "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)
  • ",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)
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash. If it's a lottery prize, remember that real lotteries do not pay large prizes by check. They wire the money directly to your bank account and you do not pay for that. Many scammers promise a large check only in order to then demand payment of courier fees for a fake courier service. )
• 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.
  • +27732761861 (South Africa, 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.
  • fredgezi222@hotmail.com

Fraud email example:

From: fred gezi <fred_gezi7771@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 13:26:32 +0200
Subject: MICROSOFT GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF US$2,000,000:00




FROM THE DESK OF LOTTERY PROMOTIONS MANAGERINTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,MICROSOFT CORPORATION WORLD LOTTERY UNITED KINGDOM.Reference No:MSW-L/200-26937
SERIAL NO: 97560GRAND PRIZE WINNER NO: 1 MICROSOFT GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF US$2,000,000:00
Dear Winner, Our gratitude goes to BILL GATES as the founder of the Microsoft Co-operation Management Worldwide are pleased to inform you today that you are a winner of our annual MICROSOFT LOTTERY conducted in United Kingdom .Your email address was attached to ticket number 77665 1234 777 with serial number s/n-7560 and drew the lucky numbers 727/13/765/37/10/73 and consequently won in the 3rd category.As a result of this , you have therefore been approved for a lump sum payout of US$2,000,000:00 (Two million united states dollars) payable in cash credited to file Reference No:MSW-L/200-26937 .All participants were selected through our Microsoft computer ballot system drawn from a collation of frequent internet users all over the world from America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia, as part of International Email Promotions Program, which is conducted annually to encourage the use of internet and computers worldwide.Your fund has been insured with your Reference No: MSW-L/200-26937 and will be ready for delivery but in order for your cheque to be issued and insured in your name and for you to begin your claim you are urgently required to provide the following information through email to MR WILLIAMS CARPENTER , Foreign Service Manager, London United Kingdom,

Simply contact our Fiduciary Claim Agent in United Kingdom where your own Payment is zoned. He will immediately commence the process to facilitate the release of your winning price money. His contact details is shown below:CONTACT DETAILS OF THE CLAIM MANAGER

Mr. FRED GEZI
Tel Number :+27 73 2761 861
Email:fredgezi222@hotmail.com
Telephone lines are open between the hours of 8:00am-19:30pm.Monday -Saturday ...

United Kingdom Also this winning is valid for THREE WEEKS and failure to issue claims after this period will automatically void yourpayment. Remember to quote your ticket number, serial number and lucky number in your future correspondence and most importantly as part of our security protocol you are to quote this security code MSW/JULY/SS07 to the Foreign Service Manager, this is to prevent scam.Congratulations once again from the entire management and staff of Microsoft Corporation to all our lucky winners this year and thank you for being part of this Promotional lottery Program. Our special thanks and gratitude goes to Bill Gates of Microsoft and all his associates for alleviating poverty around the world through this promotion.SINCERELYMrs.Olivia Ahmed Malik
(PROMOTIONS MANAGER).LOTTERY SPONSORS : CHIEF SPONSORS;
MICROSOFT CORPORATION UK, MICROSOFT CORPORATION AFRICA, MICROSOFT CORPORATION USA, MICROSOFT CORPORATION ASIA .Past winners.
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam