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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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• 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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
• 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.
  • +447011133143 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "School, Hillston-c" <hillston-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au>
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 23:52:43 +1000
Subject: Contact Email: irish208@live.com

The Irish Web Lottery
47 Meadow Vale, Sligo, Ireland.
Registration Z720633X
Tel: +44 701-113-3143
Tel: +44 701-114-0314

Dear Winner,

The Board and Management of Irish Web Lottery wishes to inform
you the results of the e-mail address ballot lottery program held today
the 2/07/08 in London.

Your email address has been picked as a winner, Of GBP: 321,546.00
(Three hundred and twenty one Thousand five hundred and forty six Great British pounds) in
this years promo with Ref no: Irish/28839/1883.

This is a millennium scientific computer game in which email addresses
were used to select winners. It is a promotional program aimed at
encouraging
Internet users, and the general public at large. Therefore you do not
need to buy a ticket to enter for the game.

To Claim your Lottery Winnings simply contact our Fiduciary Claims Agent via
the email below, with your Ref or Registration numbers.

Contact: Sir Rooney James {PhD}
Contact Email: irish208@live.com

Congratulations Once Again.
L O T T E R Y T E A M


**********************************************************************
This message is intended for the addressee named and may contain
privileged information or confidential information or both. If you
are not the intended recipient please delete it and notify the sender.
**********************************************************************

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam