419 scam: <> PAYMENT

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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

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.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

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:

This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "fiduciary 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.
- +27848983538 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
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.
- agentclive45@gmail.com (Gmail/GoogleMail; can be used from anywhere worldwide)

Fraud email example:

From: <>
Reply-To: <agentclive45@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 2015 11:26:54 -0800
Subject: PAYMENT

Attention: Email Account Holder,

Congratulations!!, We happily announce to you the draw (#1404) of the UK INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY, online Sweepstakes promotion held in London UK and Johannesburg South Africa on Saturday 31st Oct 2015

Your active e-mail address attached to the World Wide Web computer generated ticket number: B55607545 4152 with reference number UK/JA2C110P5 and Serial number ZA5365/3 ,Batch number XA87-2PY,drew the lucky numbers: 06 14 32 35 41 Bonus 43
This subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category i.e. matches 5 lucky numbers Plus Bonus number.

You have therefore been allocated to claim a total sum of Â£520,731.00 (Five Hundred and Twenty Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty One British Pounds) in cash is credited to file UKPC/9080144308/07. This is from a total cash prize of Â£17,403,993
Shared amongst the 545,587 with (3) lucky winners in "2nd" category.

Please note that youâ€™re lucky winning ticket file and number falls within our African booklet representative office in Johannesburg (SA) as indicated in your ballot played coupon. In view of this, your Â£520,731.00GBP (FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED & THIRTY ONE GREAT BRITISH POUNDS) would be released to you by our payment department.
Contact our Fiduciary agent in South Africa immediately to commence the release of your lottery prize by providing the details below.

1. Full Name:
2. Email Address:
3. Age/Occupation:
4. Reference Number/Ticket Number
5. Phone Number:
6. Country:
7. Date of draw

For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claim is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever choice you want to claim your prize. Precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program are in place. Please be warned!!! To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent and provide them with your winning email and details.

UK Lottery Fiduciary Agents:
Mr. Clive Moses
Tel: +27848983538
fax: +27864713360
E-mail: agentclive45@gmail.com

Yours Faithfully,
Judith Thompson. Online co-coordinator.

Anti-fraud resources:

What can you do when you receive 419 spam