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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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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.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

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

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims 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 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.
  • lisallen30@yahoo.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: "cashout lotto" <cashout2005@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 03 Oct 2005 11:07:15 +0000
Subject: AWARD NOTIFICATION

CASHOUT PROMO LOTTERY, THE NETHERLANDS
ALFONSTRAAT B56,1002 BS AMSTERDAM,
THE NETHERLANDS.
FROM: THE DESK OF THE PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT
Dear Winner,

We are please to announce you as one of the 10 lucky
winners in the CASHOUT LOTTO draw .
All 10 winning addresses were randomly selected from a batch of
50,000,000

international emails.Your email address emerged alongside
9 others as a category 2 winner in this year's Annual CASHOUT lotto
Draw.


Consequently,you have therefore been approved for a total
pay out of 5,000,000.00 united states Dollars ( US$ 5 million )
only.The
following particulars are attached to your lotto payment order:

(i) winning numbers: 37-13-43-85-67-11
(ii) email ticket number: FL754/22/76
(iii) lotto code number: FL09622SP
(iv) the file Ref number: FL/04/736207152/SP

Please contact the underlisted claim agent as soon as possible for
the immediate release of your winnings:

LIS ALLEN
Claims agent
Email Addres:lisallen30@yahoo.co.uk



Your fund is now deposited and insured in your name.Due to the mix up
of some numbers and names,we ask that you keep this award strictly from
public notice until your claim has been processed and your money
remitted to your account.
This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or
unscrupulous acts by other participants of this program. We hope that
with a part of your prize, you will participate in next year high
stakes
of the USD 1.3 Billion International E-mail Lottery High Stake.

Once again on behalf of all our staff, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Sincerely,
Anita Greenald.
Promotions Director,
The CASHOUT Lotto company
Europe co-ordinator.

N.B:
1.All claims are nullified after 10 working days from today.
2.Your Ref number must be in all your mails with the claims officer.
3.Do inform the claims officer of any change of names or addresses.
4.All winners under the age of 18 are automatically dis-qualified.


--

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam