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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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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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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.
  • greglouis@winning.com

Fraud email example:

From: "nancy.rukky@virgin.net" <nancy.rukky@virgin.net>
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 12:23:04 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Winning Notification


An Affiliate of the UK National Lottery355 Birmingham Road, Wylde Green,SuttonCold Field, West Midlands, B72 IDL.Ref: EAASL/941OYI/5+BBatch No.: BL040804BLUKWinning No.: 01-05-06-31-33-41
WINNING NOTICEWe happily announce to you the draws of the Euro-Asian Big LotteryInternational programs held on the2nd of October 2005here in United Kingdom inwhich you and forty nine (49) others were selectedas winners under drawsB6/6.Your e-mail address attached to ticketnumber:08-04-33-38-BL-UK with Serialnumber BL040811/04 drewthe lucky numbers:01-05-06-31-33-41,which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2ndcategory(5+B).All participants were selected randomly fromInternet sites through computerdrawn system and from 50,000 companies.This promotion takes place quarterly.You have therefore been approved to claim a totalsum of £413,267.00 (FourHundred and Thirteen Thousan Two Hundred and SixtySeven GBP) as yourwinning prize. This is from a total cash prize of 12%lottery tax worth £549million per year shared among the Fifty(50) luckywinners quarterly.Please note that your lucky winning numberfalls within our European bookletrepresentative office inEurope as indicated in theresults. In view of this,your £413,267.00 will be paid to you uponconfirmation and clarification byour payment office in Europe.Our European agent will immediately commencethe process to facilitate therelease of your funds as soon as you contact them. Toavoid unnecessary delays and complications, please quote your Ticket,Reference and Batch numbers inany correspondences with our designated agent or us.Please include your telephone numbers when contacting the agent.
You should contact:Mr. Greg LouisEmail: greglouis@winning.com
Congratulations once more from all members andstaffs of this program. Thankyou for being part of our promotional lottery program.
Sincerely yours,Nancy Rukky.Customer Service

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam