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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
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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• 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 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.
  • douglas_graceland@financier.com

Fraud email example:

From: "TOM BAILEY" <baileysfamily1@yahoo.co.in> (may be fake)
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 15:33:45 +0200
Subject: AWAITING YOUR REPLY

Soccer World Cup Local Organizing Committee
(ONLINE REGIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAME)
from: the desk of the promotions manager,
international promotions/prize award department

Dear Sir\madam

congratulations for your winning:

We happily announce to you the draw of South African 2010 World cup Bid lottery Award International programs held in Zurich, Switzerland. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: B9665 75604546 199 with! Serial number 97560 drew the winning: 60/84/27/17/36, which subsequently won you the lottery award in the 2nd category. You are therefore been approved to claim a total sum of €4,800,000.00 (Four Million Eight Hundred Thousand Euro) in cash credited to file KPC/9030108308/03. This is from a total cash prize of €60,000,000.00 (Sixty million Euro) shared among the first 200 lucky winners in this category worldwide.

Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our lottery booklet representative office in South Africa as indicate in the play coupon. In view of this, your €4,800,000.00 (Four Million Eight Hundred Thousand Euro) would be released to you through the assistance of our agent in South Africa immediately he will commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact him. Also your claim included a one month hotel reservation in one of the five star hotels.

All participants were selected randomly from Worldwide Web site through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000,00 companies and individual emails addresses. The lottery program took place to promote South Africans 2010 world cup award. For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims are 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 you are advised to file for your claim immediately through our agent MR. DOUGLAS MANGENA immediately you received this message because you stand a risk of loosing the prize if you fail to make your claims within a month from the day you received this notification.

MR. DOUGLAS MANGENA
GRACELAND FINANCE SA
EMAIL: douglas_graceland@financier.com

Contact him immediately you receive this mail.

This Online Ballot System was inaugurated to create Awareness for tourism and across the board participation for this great Soccer Fiesta.

Congratulation from the Lottery Team working together to Create Awareness for the Soccer World Cup.

Yours sincerely,


Mrs. Bruin B Kramin (Zonal coordinator)


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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam