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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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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.

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Fraud email example:

From: "British Lottery" <british_winnings@british-winnings-promo.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2005 11:42:41 +0000
Subject: BRITISH WINNING LOTTERY NOTIFICATION.

BRITISH LOTTERY HEADQUARTERS:
CUSTOMER SERVICE,
**********************************************
28 TANFIELD ROAD,
CROYDON. LONDON
**********************************************
Ref: EAASL/941OYI/02/SHYN
Batch: 12/25/0034

RE: WINNING NOTIFICATION

We happily announce to you the draw of the British Lottery International
programs held on the 15st of March 2005 in London. Your e-mail address
attached to ticket number: 564 75600545 188 with Serial number 5388/02 drew
the lucky numbers: 31-6-26-13-35-7, which subsequently won you the lottery
in the 2nd category. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum
of £ 1,000,000,00 (one million British pounds) in cash credited to file
KPC/9080118308/02/SHYN. This is from a total cash prize of US £ 50 Million
pounds shared amongst the first fifty (50) lucky winners in this category.

This year Lottery Program Jackpot is the largest ever for British Lottery.
The estimated £ 50 million jackpot would be the sixth-biggest in U.K.
history. The biggest was the £ 105 million jackpot that went to two winners
in a May 2000 drawing of The Big Game Mega Millions' predecessor.
Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European booklet
representative office in Europe as indicated in our play coupon. In view of
this, your £ 1,000,000,00 (one million British pounds) would be released to
you by our affiliate bank in London. Our agent will immediately commence the
process to facilitate the release of your funds .

All participants were selected randomly from 'World Wide Web' site through
computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 companies. This
promotion takes place annually. For security reasons, you are advised to
keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and
your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your
prize. This is a part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming
and unwarranted abuse of this program by some unscrupulous elements.

Note that all claims process and clearance procedures must be duly completed
early to avoid impersonation arising to the issue of double claim.
To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please quote your
reference/batch numbers in any correspondences with us or our designated
agent. Congratulations once more from all members and staffs of this
program. Thank you for being part of our promotional lottery program.

Yours faithfully,
Mr. Edward Carl
AFRO-ASIAN Zonal Coordinator

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam