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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.

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Fraud email example:

From: Mike Miller <mikemiller005@faroweb.com>
Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 19:06:17 +0100
Subject: The National Lottery

The National Lottery Company
Ref. Number: 132/756/4509
Batch Number: 538901527-Bc68
Ticket Number: 27522465896-6453
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Winners in our International Lottery Program held on the 1th Day of November, 2004. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 27522465896-6453 with serial number 3772-554 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-31-45 which
consequently won in the 2ND category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of 4,000,000 EUROS (4 Million EUROS).
CONGRATULATIONS!
Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims have been fully processed and your money Remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid multiple claims and unwarranted abuse of this
program by some participants. All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from over 20,000 company and 30,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This
promotional program takes place every five years.
This lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies in Europe as part of their social
responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have operational base. We hope with part of your winnings you will take part in our next year Ten million Euros international lottery. To file for your claim, please contact our fiducial agent:William Smith at:
Reply Email: william_smith@mail2consultant.com
Remember all winning must be claimed not later than two weeks from the day you receive this email. After this date all unclaimed funds will be included in the nextstake. Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, remember to quote your reference number
and batch numbers in all correspondence. Furthermore should there be any change of address do inform our agent as soon as possible. Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program.
Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically
disqualified.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr.Mike Miller
The Natonal Lottery Company (co-coordinator)
N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the
winners will result to disqualification. Please do not
reply to this mail. Contact your claims agent.

Anti-fraud resources: