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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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• 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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "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!

Fraud email example:

From: "panafricanlottery commission" <panafricanlotteryint@msn.com>
Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 20:15:19 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS LOTTERY STARPRIZE WINNER!!

>PAN-AFRICAN LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL
>**********************************
>SUITE 105C LOTTERY COMPLEX
>*******************************
>GARKI,ABUJA NIGERIA
>***********************
>EMAIL:panafricalotteryint@msn.com
>LOTTERY DRAWS
>Our ref: PAN008465/635L
>SUBJECT: WINNING NOTIFICATION
>
>HELLO,LOTTERYWINNER
>
>SORRY WE HAVE DELAYED THE SENDING OF YOUR LOTTERY
>STARPRIZE WINNER NOTIFICATION.WE REGRET THE
>INCONVINENCES.YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS THE
>STARPRIZE
>WINNER OF THIS 2005 PAN AFRICAN LOTTERY
>INTERNATIONAL
>LOTTERY DRAWS. YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS ATTACHED TO TICKET
>NUMBER : 564 75600545 188 WITH SERIAL NUMBER 5388/02
>DREW THE LUCKY NUMBERS: 31-6-26-13-35-7, WHICH
>AUTOMATICALLY WON YOU THE LOTTERY IN THE 1st
>CATEGORY.
>YOU HAVE THEREFORE BEEN APPROVED TO CLAIM A TOTAL
>SUM
>OF $1M USD(ONE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS) IN
>CASH
>CREDITED TO FILE KPC/9080118308/02/TCA.
>THE LOTTERY PROGRAMME IS FOR SUPPORT TO WAR TORN
>COUNTRIES IN AFRICA AND IS MEANT FOR FOREIGNERS
>ONLY.
>AFRICANS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE LOTTERY DRAWS. THE
>EMAIL ADDRESSES ATTACHED TO THE TICKETS WERE DRAWN
>RANDOMLY FROM THE 'WORLD WIDE WEB' SITE USUALLY
>THROUGH COMPUTER EXTRACTION.
>THE STARPRIZE REMAINS AT $1M USD (ONE MILLION UNITED
>STATES DOLLARS) WHILE THE SECOND AND
>THIRD PRIZES ARE $500,000 USD(FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND
>UNITED STATES DOLLARS) AND $250,000 USD(TWO HUNDRED
>AND FIFTY THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS)
>RESPECTIVELY.
>WE HAVE CONTINUED TO SUCCESSFULLY HOLD THIS LOTTERY
>PROGRAMME FOR TWO YEARS NOW IN ORDER TO ASSIST WOMEN
>AND CHILDREN IN WAR TORN COUNTRIES IN AFRICA.
>NOTE VERY WELL:
>1) THAT THE PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING FOR THE LOTTERY
>WAS
>STRICTLY OURS AND THAT THERE WAS NO PRIOR
>NOTIFICATION
>TO YOU HENCE THE WINNING OF THE LOTTERY.SO WE EXPECT
>YOUR AMAZEMENT. THE ELECTRONIC MAILL ADDRESS TICKET
>WON THE DRAWS WITH THE UNDERLISTED WINNING
>INFORMATIONS.OUR STARPRIZE REMITTANCE BANK IS
>STANDARDTRUST BANK VIA LLYODS BANK TSB LONDON AS
>CORRESPONDING BANK
>2) IN PREVIOUS CLAIMS,WE HAVE HAD CASES OF FALSE
>WINNERS AND FALSE CLAIMS SO WE ADVICE YOU TO KEEP
>THIS
>NOTIFICATION AND YOUR WINNING INFORMATIONS SECRET
>FOR
>NOW UNTIL WE HAVE REACHED AN ADVANCED STAGE IN YOUR
>LOTTERY PRIZE CLAIMS.
>3) THERE ALOT OF FRAUDSTERS ON THE INTERNET CLAIMING
>TO RUN LOTTERY PROGRAMMES ONLY TO DECEIVE AND
>DEFRAUD
>UNSUSPECTING CITIZENS SO ALWAYS QUOTE YOUR LOTTERY
>WINNING INFORMATIONS IN SUBSEQUENT CORRESPONDENCES
>WITH THE STARPRIZE LOTTERY AGENT.
>YOUR BATCH NUMBER : PAN463526JK
>WINNING TICKET NUMBER: 564 75600545 188
>REGISTRATION NUMBER: 356
>SERIAL NUMBER: 5388/03
>STAR PRIZE CLAIMNANT NUMBER: HUHJ45637KD
>YOUR SPEEDY RESPONSE IS REQUIRED AS WE HAVE
>SPECIFIED
>SCHEDULE FOR DISPATCHING OF PRIZES AND ALL PRIZES
>MUSTBE CLAIMED AFTER THREE WEEKS OF THIS
>NOTIFICATION
>OR THE PRIZE BECOMES UNCLAIMABLE.
>
>ONCE AGAIN CONGRATULATIONS !!
>
>REGARDS
>MRS.JULIA ROBERT
>DIRECTOR(PANLC)

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam