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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.

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 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.
  • +447023053433 (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.
  • hallphillips02@yahoo.com

Fraud email example:

From: "kate wesley" <promotion_manager17@msn.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 00:45:39 +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 this day I4th Jan, 2006,of
winners of INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROGRAMS held on the 29th of Dec, 2005 as
part of our second quarter of the yearbonanza.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,
PHONE: +447023053433
EMAIL:hallphillips02@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 youfor 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