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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:
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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:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "deadline" (they are rushing you so you don't have time to think properly)
• 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.
  • philli_hall02@yahoo.com

Fraud email example:

From: "Kate Wesley" <promotion_manager06@msn.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Oct 2005 15:02:04 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!

INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROMOTIONS.
68 Brafield house
SW8 4UA
London

FROM: THE DESK OF THE PROMOTIONS MANAGER,INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRIZE
AWARD DEPARTMENT REF:CR/SW/A-D27511444 AND BATCH NO:56/1477/LZN

ATTENTION: Sir/Madam,
RE/AWARD NOTIFICATION
We are pleased to inform you of the announcement today 29th October, 2005,of
winners of INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAMS held on the 4th of October, 2005
as part of our second quarter of the year bonanza.You or your company,
attached to ticket number 034-1416-4612-750, with serial number 6521-11 drew
the lucky numbers 31-51-22-24-39-43, and consequently won the lottery in
category A.You have therefore been approved for a lump
sum pay out of £4,500,000 in cash credited to file CR/SW/A-D27511444 This is
from total prize money of £13, 500,000.00 shared among 3 winners in this
category. All participants were selected through a computer balloting system
drawn from 96,000 names from Middle East, Asia, Africa, Canada, Europe and
North America and Oceania as part of our International Promotions Program,
which is conducted annually.

CONGRATULATIONS!
Your fund is now deposited with FEMS ENTERPRISES PLC. 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.
We hope with a part of your prize, you will participate in our end of year
high stakes £1.3 billion International Lottery.To claim your prize please
contact your claims agent;

MR. PHILLIP HALL
FEMS ENTERPRISES PLC,
EMAIL:philli_hall02@yahoo.com

For due processing and remittance of your prize money to a designated
account of your choice.
Remember, that the Deadline for the collection of your prize winning is
fourteen (14) banking days upon receipt of this notification. After this
date, all funds will be returned as unclaimed. All correspondences to FEMS
ENTERPRISES PLC either by fax or email, should have this EMAIL sent along
with it and also, your FULL ADDRESS, YOUR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE, DIRECT PHONE
AND FAX NUMBERS and your EMAIL ADDRESS to which this email is sent, should
be clearly and BOLDLY WRITTEN IN YOUR RESPONSE.
NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please
remember to quote your reference and batch numbers in every one of your
correspondences with your agent. Furthermore, should there be any change of
your address, do inform your claims agent as soon as possible.
Congratulations again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our
promotions program.

Sincerely,
KATE WESLEY.
THE PROMOTIONS MANAGER, INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROMOTIONS.
N.B. Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result
to disqualification. Please do not reply to this mail. Contact your claims
agent.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam