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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "million united states dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
• 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.
  • +31622597171 (Netherlands, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • 2005@fastermail.com

Fraud email example:

From: "Lotto award" <lotto_award500@msn.com>
Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 18:26:41 +0000
Subject: congratulations!!!you have won the new year award

WEBSITE:www.superbal.nl SUPERBAL   E-MAIL LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL  PROMOTIONS PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPT www.superbal.nl BATCH NO:   NLD066411-337-439-WWW1205. REFERENCE:  NO:0 46-OPR-LD44/NLVVR CONGRATULATIONS! WINNING NOTIFICATION !! Dear Sir/Madam, This is to inform you of the release today of the DAYZERS SUPERBAL   E-MAIL  PROMOTIONS  PROGRAM   held on the 31st of December, 2005 Due to the mix up of numbers, the results were released on the 2nd of January, 2006. Your name attached to ticket 4002/09/pr also which drew the lucky numbers of 8-12-7-17 which consequently won the lottery in the second category. You have therefore been approved for payment of 1.000,000.00 United states Dollars(ONE MILLION united States Dollars ONLY) cash credited to file with REF. NO.32973264/97/411-05 CONGRATULATIONS: Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we advise that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims has been processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some paticipants. All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from only Microsoft users from over 20,000 companies and 3,000,000 individual e-mail addresses and names from all over the world.This promotional program takes place every five. For the processing of your claim, please contact our fudicial agent in the legal department. Mr. ROLAND KOK. SUPERBAL E-MAIL  LOTTERY PROMOTION!!! TEL:+31-622-597-171 FAX:+31-847-153-060. E-mail: rolandkok2005@fastermail.com website:superbal.nl They are your agent and responsible for the processing and transfer of your winnings to you. YOUR SECURITY FILE NUMBER IS W881-462-H2005/11C6 (keep personal). Any claim not made before 25th January, 2006, will be returned to the MINISTERIE VAN DE ECONOMIE THE NETHERLANDS. Note that all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake. Also in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all your correspondence with Mr.Roland Kok. Please follow all his instructions. Furthermore, should there be any change of address do inform us as quickly as possible. Congratulations once more from our members of staff and thank you for  being part of our promotional program.   Yours Sincerely,   Mrs. Doris Van Der Broek  SUPERBAL  E-MAIL LOTTERY PROMOTIONS)       Melinda  Halden was one of three winners to share the Lotto Rollover Jackpot , each scooping a massive $2,987,470.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam