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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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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:

• 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)
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "tax clearance" (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. Never ever send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally. )
  • "tax clearance" (Tax offices mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. Even after you pay their fake tax demands you will still not receive the non-existent funds you have been promised. )
  • "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 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.
  • 7atlanticsweepstakes@myway.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: ATLANTICSWEEPSTAKES ATLANTICSWEEPSTAKES
<atlanticsweepstakes112@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: <7atlanticsweepstakes@myway.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 01:08:32 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE A WINNER



ATLANTIC SWEEPSTAKES PRIZE INC.
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRIZE DIRECTORATLANTICSWEEPSTAKES /PRIZEAWARD DEPT No 10 GreenPark Street,xw5 5hb london,England. LOT#::MON876443S/LOT Re: Final Notification20 NOVEMBER 2007.
Dear Sir/Madam,Good Day! My name is Frank Knight; the prize director representing the Atlantic International sweepstakes Claims Department. On november 19th 2007 at approximately 3:45pm I tried contacting you, but unfortunately was unable to get a hold of you. The main reason for writing you this letter is to inform you the reason for my call. Further to our letter dated november 18th 2007 in which you were informed of your selection as the prize winner of our quarterly fifty thousand dollars (US$50,000.00) award, we are yet to receive any response from you. Every year we enter 50,000 names from different sweepstakes and lottery databases worldwide including North America, and our network server indicates that you were selected as a prize winner on november 18th 2007 and you still have not claimed your winnings for the sum of US$50, 000.00. We are legally required to notify you that if we do not get a response from you within 14days from the date on this letter, your file will be closed and you may no longer be eligible to claim your winnings. Usually when a winner does not claim their money, there should be a note stating why before we can close the client file.To elaborate further, this draw was held in London, where our head office is located. Your lot number drew lucky numbers 5-11-18-24-32-45 which consequently won in the 3rd category. You have therefore been approved and are guaranteed a lump sum pay out of US$50,000.00 at no extra cost to yourself from our North American payment office located in New York, should you claim your winning within 21 working days.Now, we would like to explain to you the Federal and International regulations governing the personal collections of cash prizes. Prize winnings are released to you as soon as your Clearance Fee is deducted and paid. That will be the day that your cheque will be released from our payment office. The clearance fee is provided to you and is a calculated amount based on the size of your win as required by Federal and International regulations. Note that once your clearance fee is deducted, you will receive your winnings in the form of a certified cheque or if you request, by bank transfer directly into your bank account or any account nominated by you. Under section 22 of the United Kingdom Non Resident Tax Act 2003 , all winners must clear full taxes of the money won, it is a criminal offence to authorise winning payments without full tax clearance by the winner.
For security purpose and clarity, we strongly advise that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims have been fully processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by some nominees. The whole process to receive your win should normally take seven days should you claim within 14 days.So once again, Congratulations to you! To claim and receive your award prize please contact our main processing office in London, at email at (7atlanticsweepstakes@myway.com) .Sincerely YourscbcnvbdjdjCERTHA BAILEY VICE PRESIDENT.
_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam