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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
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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 fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "20 craven park, harlesden" (address often used in fake lottery scams)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "please endeavor to " (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",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)
  • "00,000.00" (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)
• 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.
  • +447011149689 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +447092866251 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • smith.winsts4@hotmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: smith.winsts4@hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:06:37 -1000
Subject: WINNING NOTIFICATION!!!

Microsoft Promotion
20 Craven Park, Harlesden
London NW 10, UK
Ref: BTD/968/07
Batch: 409978E

Dear Winner,

WINNING NOTIFICATION!!!

Microsoft and AOL has set out and successfully organized a
Sweepstakes marking this year anniversary, the selection was
made randomly from World Wide Web site through a computer
draw system extracted from over 100,000 individuals and
companies, attaching email addresses to ticket numbers.

Your email address as indicated was drawn and attached to
ticket number 008795727498 with serial numbers BTD/90
80648302/06 and drew the lucky numbers 14-21-25-39-40-47(20)
which subsequently won you 1,000,000.00 (One Million Great
Britain Pounds) as one of the 10 jackpot winners in this
draw. This draws was conducted in London, UK on the 22nd
January 2008.

Contact your designated agent who shall guide you through
the process to facilitate the release of your prize.
To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent
and Provide him with the information below:

1.Full Name:
2.Address:
3.Marital Status:
4.Occupation:
5.Age:
6.Sex:
7.Nationality:
8.Country Of Residence:
9.Telephone Number:
10.Fax Number
11.Draw Number above:
12.Mode of collection.wire transfer,courier delivery
Mr Smith Winst
Microsoft Promotion Award Team
Email:smith.winsts4@hotmail.com
Phone: +447-0111-49689
Fax:+44-709-2866-251

That way your Winning Cheque, Winnings Certificate and all
other
relevant documents (paperwork) can be prepared for you.
Note that all prize funds must be claimed not later than two
weeks.
After this date all funds will be returned to the MICROSOFT
TREASURY
as unclaimed. In order to avoid unnecessary delays and
complications,
please endeavor to quote your Reference Number (BTD/968/07)
and Batch
number(409978E) in every correspondence with your agent.

Thank you for being part of our this Year's commemorative
Anniversary
Draws.

Sincerely,
Dr. Bryan McDonald
Microsoft Promotion Team

Microsoft Inc.
Promo (c) 2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam