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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

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!

Fraud email example:

From: "GWCOL UK" <admn@gwcol-uk.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 15:43:03 +0000
Subject: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

The Head,
Global winning Control Office - GWCOL.
4th Site House,Hanks,P0Q,6EE, London.
Tel/Fax - 44 (0) 871 722 5997

Date : 12/10/2005

Dear Kacy Hangca,

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

We acknowledge the receipt of your mail. Please send to us the following for
us to process your payment approval.

1. Your Full names and address as contained in your official documents /
country of residence.
2. A copy of your recent photograph or international passport copy for
identification.
3. Your telephone number - Mobilile preferable.
4. Your age / occupation.

Send all these informations via email. We do not access such important
informations by post or snail mail, for security purpose and clarity. We
advise that you keep your winning informations confidential until your
claims have been processed.

This is part of our security system to avoid double claims and unwarranted
abuse of this program by scam impostors.

Congratulations once more.

Yours Faithfully,

Fountain Steve - For GWCOL.



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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam