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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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
• 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.
  • directoroffinance1@excite.com

Fraud email example:

From: "BRITISH LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL" <uk_lotto003@msn.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 00:03:00 +0000
Subject: CONGRATULATION,YOU JUST WON.

Ref. Number: BTL/491OXI/04
Batch Number: 12/25/0304
Ticket Number: 564 75600545-188
Serial Number: 5388/02
Dear Sir/Madam,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Winners in our
International Lottery Program held on the 18th of JANUARY 2006.
Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 564 75600545-188 with
serial number 5388/02 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-31-45, which consequently
won in the 2ND category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay
out of
USD2,500,000 (Two Million,five hundred thousand dollars).CONGRATULATIONS!

Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your
winning information confidential until your claims have been fully
processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security
protocol to avoid multiple claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by
some participants.

All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn
from over 20,000 company and 30,000,000 individual email addresses and
names from all over the world. This promotional program takes place every
five years.

This lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some
multinational companies in Europe as part of their social
responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have
operational base. We hope with part of your winnings you will take part
in our next year Ten million Euros international lottery. To file for your
claim, please contact our director of finance.

Dr Donald Brown.
Reply Email:directoroffinance1@excite.com

Furthermore should there be any change of email address do inform our
agent as soon as possible. Congratulations once more from our members
of staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program.

Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. Anthony Campbell

British Lottery International (co-coordinator)
N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will
result to disqualification. Please do not reply to this mail. Contact
our director of finance.

_________________________________________________________________
Don’t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search!
http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam