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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.

 

 

Fraud email example:

From: "Newmexico Lottery" <infomexico@msn.com>
Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 01:23:03 +0000
Subject: NOTIFICATION OF WINNING

New Mexico Lottery Headquarters:
Palais Des Nations,
209 Geneva 10,
Switzerland


WINNING NOTIFICATION:

The members and sponsors happily announce to you the draw of the New
Mexico Lottery programs held on the 1st of February, 2005 in Melbourne,
Australia. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 2247887653
which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category. All
participants were selected randomly from World Wide Web site through
computer
draw system andextracted from over 100,000 individuals and companies.The
Lottery teams up with local companiesand media partners to promote
Lottery products, and informs citizens on where the proceeds from Lottery
ticket sales go.

You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of 1,000,000
EURO(ONE MILLION EURO) in cash. This is from a total cash prize of FIFTY
THREE MILLION EURO,shared amongst the first hundred (53) lucky winners in
this category.

A statewide focus is taken on most large promotions, and the Lottery
works with local companies, such as Pepsi and IBM, in "co-promotional"
partnerships. These partnerships help each company introduce new products
to customers.

This promotion takes place annually. For security reasons, you are
advised to keep your winninginformation confidential till your claims is
processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit
to claim your prize. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid
double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some
unscrupulous elements. Please be warned.

In view of this, your 1,000,000 EURO(ONE MILLION EURO) would be
released to you by our Security firm. To file for your claim, please contact
our fiduciary/Claims agent:

Name: Mr James Hadley

Email: claims_agent70@yahoo.co.uk

To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, you are to contact
Mr James Hadley with followings details below:

1. Your full names,telephone, contact address

2. quote your Ticket number in any correspondences with us or our
designated agent.

Our agent will immediately commence the process to facilitate the
release of your funds as soon as you contact him.

The Lottery is strongly committed to maintaining the privacy of
personal information that is gathered from the use of its web site and web
services. The following statement discloses the Lottery's privacy policy
and its information gathering/dissemination practices.

The Lottery will not release personal information to third parties
except where it is already provided by law. Depending on the specific
nature of the service, information may be shared with other state agencies
as stated in the Open Records Act. This statute allows for the exchange
of public records or sharing of information between public agencies
when the exchange is serving a legitimate governmental need or is
necessary in the performance of a legitimate government function. E-mail
addresses or other information that is obtained as a result of interacting
with the Colorado Lottery web site will be used for the benefit of the
Lottery and will not be sold to third party companies except as required
by the Open Records Act.

The Lottery will not share personal information with any private party,
except as required by the Open Records Act.



Sincerely,
Carolyn Bryan
(Zonal Coordinator


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