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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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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:
  • "fiduciary 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.
  • +447040115699 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448712431917 (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.
  • benedict_turner@sify.com

Fraud email example:

From: "Richard Wilson" <uknl_2005@msn.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 18:57:34 +0000
Subject: LETTER OF NOTIFICATION

The National Lottery

P.O. Box 1010

Liverpool

L70 1NL

United Kingdom.

Ref: LSUK/2031/8161/05

Batch: R3/A312-59

ANNOUNCEMENT:

We happily announce to you the draw (#1022) of the UK NATIONAL ONLINE RAFFLE DRAW held on Wednesday 8th October 2005.

Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 56475600545 188 with Serial number 5368/02 drew the lucky numbers: 01,14,20,22,25,26,09 which subsequently won you one of the two Rollover prizes. You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £5,254,612 (Five Million Two Hundred and Fifty Four Thousand Six Hundred and Twelve Pounds Sterling) in cash credited to file KTU/9023118308/03.

All participants for the online version were selected randomly from the World Wide Web through a computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are listed online. This promotion takes place weekly.

Please note that your lucky Winning Number falls within our European booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon. In view of this, your £5,254,612 would be released to you by any of our payment offices in Europe.

To file for your claim, please contact our fiduciary agent:

Mr. Benedict Turner

Email: benedict_turner@sify.com

Tel: +44-704-011-5699, +44-704-011-0297, +44-703-184-6785

Fax: +44-871-243-1917,+44-871-243-1918

Provide him with the information below:

1. Name:

2. Address:

3. Marital Status:

4. Occupation:

5. Age:

6. Sex:

7. Nationality:

8. Country of Residence:

9. Telephone Number:

10. Mobile/Cell Phone Number:

11. Fax Number:

12. Best time to call you in the morning:

13. Best time to call you in the night:

14. Email Address:

15. Draw Number above: 1022

That way your Winnings Certificate and all other relevant documents/paperwork can be prepared for you. You would be required to show an instrument of identification when claiming your winnings.

For precautionary measures, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and your money remitted to you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize. This is part of our Policy to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program. Please be warned.

Good luck from me and members of staff of the U.K NATIONAL ONLINE RAFFLE DRAWS.

Yours faithfully,

Sir Richard Wilson

Online Co-ordinator for U.K NATIONAL LOTTERY Sweepstakes International Program

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam