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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claim 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 mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +447031930604 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448716614322 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
• 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.
  • optimasecuritiesltd@lycos.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: "ELGARDO LOTTERY" <elgardolottery@msn.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 16:33:26 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!!

MANAGING DIRECTORS
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONAL/PRIZE AWARD DEPT
REF:EUL/456/952/05
BATCH:22/315/EUL.
Email: elgardolottery@msn.com

Attention:
WINNINGS/PRIZE CLAIM
NOTIFICATION,CONGRATULATIONS!!!.
we are pleased to inform you of the official announcement made on
28/9/2005,about the winners of the 2005 ELGARDO International Lottery
Program held on the 21st of August 2005.Your email address was attached
to ticket number 491-885 3922,with serial number 117-479 drew the lucky
numbers 3-23-31-01-44-66-52,and consequently won the lottery in the
International category.
You are therefore,approved for a lump sum pay out of USD
300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand United State Dollars)in cash.
This is from total prize money of USD 9,000,000.00 shared among 25
winners in this category. All participants were selected through a
computer balloting system drawn from over 85,000 companies and individuals
from the MIDDLE EAST,ASIA,AFRICA,EUROPE, NORTH AMERICA,SOUTH AMERICA and
OCEANIA as part of our International promotions program which is
conducted annually.The lottery programme was sponsored by a conglomerate of
multinational
companies in the WORLD as part of their social responsibility to the
citizens of the communities where they have operational base.
Congratulations!!!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 participants of
this program.For the immediate processing and collection of your prize
money,please
contact our Claim's Agent today.

Optima Securities Ltd
Payment Co-ordinator
145 Warwick Castle,
London,UK
Handling Dept Payment Office
Hot-Line +44-703-193-0604 Fax:+44-871-661-4322
Email: optimasecuritiesltd@lycos.co.uk

Remember,you must contact our claim agent not later than the
20/10/2005.After this date,all funds will be returned as unclaimed. All
correspondences to Jerome Hutchers,should have this email sent along with
it and also your Full Name/Contact Anbddress,Country of residence and
Tel/Fax
Numbers.Please remember to quote your reference and batch numbers as stated
above in every one of your correspondences with your claim
agent.Furthermore, should there be any change of your address,do inform
yourclaim agent as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
MRS.MARY POWELL
Promotions Manager
ELGARDO Lottery.

Note:
It's very important you contact the security company via thier contacts
above immediately for immediate attention on processing
your prize for transfer.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam