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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!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• 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 office" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "million pounds" (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)
  • "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.
  • +447035928857 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "POWERBALL LOTTERY" <no-reply@powerball.com>
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:52:36 -0700
Subject: NOTICE OF CONSOLATION PRIZE WINNING

POWERBALL LOTTO. UK(comfrimation letter of your winnings)
POWERBALL-WHEEL E-GAME 2008. Tuesday, September 23

POWERBALL LOTTO. UK.

POWERBALL-WHEEL
E-GAME 2008


NOTICE OF CONSOLATION PRIZE WINNING.

This email confirms that you have been notified by the
POWERBALL INTER LOTTO
GAMES UK.

The England Lottery Winning for 2008 Power ball E-game held
on 31st May 2008.

We wish to congratulate you on the selection of your email
coupon Number which
was selected among the 45 lucky consolation prizes
Winners.Your email ID identified
with Coupon No PBL2348974321 and was selected by Electronic
Random Selection
System (ERSS) with entries from the 50,000 different email
addresses enrolled for the
Lotto-Wheel E-game.Your email ID included among the 50,000
different email addresses
where submitted by our partner international email provider
companies.

Prize Ref No: PBL/CN/6654/CP
LotteryGroup: Consolation Prize Group
Prize Amount: £1,000,000.00 (One Million Pounds
Sterlings)Only.

you are required to contact the Lottery Claims Processing
Officer
and send to us this following information below.

Lottery Claims Officer:
Name: Mr. William Park
Email: powerballwheelgame@live.com
Tel: +447035928857

CLAIMS PROCESSING INFORMATIONS.

1. FULLNAME:........................................
2. CONTACT ADDRESS:.......................................
3. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:.......................
4. MARITAL STATUS:.....................
5. NATIONALITY..............
6. SEX...........
7. DATE OF BIRTH:.................
8. TEL: .........................
9. OCCUPATION:..........................
10.CURRENT EMAIL:............................
11.Annual income.................................

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam