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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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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:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "courier company" (Courier companies mentioned in 419 scams are always fake. They will have you send money to them, but won't deliver anything. )
  • "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.
  • +447045711992 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Uk National Lottery"<onlineuknationallottery4@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:32:11 -600
Subject: Dear Winner:Congratulations!!!

UK-LOTTO Headquarters:
United Kingdom
Customer Service
REF NO: HLP/200-26937
BATCH: 2005MJL-01

WINNING NOTIFICATION

We happily announce to you the draw (# 1175) of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY online
Sweepstakes International program held on 9th of December,2007 in MANCHESTER
UNITED-KINGDOM.

Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: UK/000056389 with Serial Number
4398/05 drew the lucky numbers :(09-14-26-28-30-45) and the bonus number (32)won
you the lottery in the 2nd category You have therefore been approved to claim
a total sum of £250,000.00(Two Hundred And Fifty Thousand Pounds sterling)in
cash, credited to file UK/YH/5674325/05.

This particular promotion sponsored by Yahoo! Inc. takes place monthly.Please
note that your lucky winning numbers falls within our
European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon.


In view of this, Your £250,000.00(Two Hundred And Fifty Thousand Pounds) will
be released to you by any of our payment offices
in Europe.

To file for your claim, contact our CLAIMS AGENT below with the following information.


Choose your mode of delivery..............

(1)BANK TRANSFER(BANK TO BANK TRANSFER)

(2)COURIER DELIVERY(CERTIFIED CHEQUE MADE OUT IN YOUR NAME DELIVERED
TO YOU VIA OUR AFFILIATE COURIER COMPANY)

Mr.SPENCER SMITH
P.O Box 1103
Asbury Street, Creek Road,
Deptford, London SE8
Tel:+44 70457 11992
E-mail:claimunit4@live.com

STATE YOUR NAME AS IT SHOULD APPEAR ON PRIZE CHEQUE .When claiming
prize, you must provide proof of identity that exactly matches your
name as typed below.

Please note the following:

1.All claims are nullified after 20 working days from today.

2.Your Reference number must be in all your mails with the claims officer.

3.Do inform the claims officer of any change of names or addresses.

4.Please do not reply to this email. Contact your claims agent.

Yours faithfully,
Smith Cathedel (co-ordinator).
Copyright 1994-2008 The UK National Lottery Inc

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam