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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
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• 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:
  • "cashier's check" (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash)
• 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: "DAVID PLATT" <michealhun@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: dav_platt@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 12:13:21 +0000
Subject: PERSONAL

ATTENTION

The Local Organising Committee of the European Champions League is glad to
announce to the world the giving away of the sum of FIFTY MILLION POUNDS to
100 lucky email addresses all over the world. This promotion is in
appreciation of our International Support for the past Soccer Events and the
correspondent earnings at the stock market which was far beyond our
projected quarterly earnings.

Be informed that all winners in this program have been selected randomly
through a computer ballot system drawn from over 1,500,000 companies and
individual e-mail addresses database.
Your email address happened to be one of the lucky winner of FIVE HUNDRED
THOUSAND POUNDS among the Hundred email addressess chosen.

Inother to claim your prize, you will have to fill the form below and send
it back to us for verification and then you will be inform on how your
Cashier's Check for the sum which has already been deposited with your email
contact. We use this opportunity to thank all our Sponsors/Contributors of
this program: AIR EMIRATES,ADIDAS,NIKE,MCDONALDS,COCA-COLA,UNITED
AIRLINES,BMW,PEPSI,VIRGIN ATLANTIC,UMBRO-SPORTLINE,FUJIFILM, AIR-ASIA,
BARCLAYS,VODAFONE, NOKIA N-SERIES, LUCOZADE SPORT, AND A HOST OF EMAIL
SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR ALLOWING THE USE
OF THEIR DATABASE FOR THE DRAWS AND ALSO FOR THE PROVISION OF SECURE (SSL)
EMAIL DELIVERY SYSTEMS.

NAME:.................................................................................
AGE:..................................................................................
SEX:..................................................................................
ADDRESS:..............................................................................
EMAIL:................................................................................
TEL.:.................................................................................
OCCUPATION:...........................................................................
COUNTRY:..............................................................................

Please you are advised to complete the form and send back to us for prompt
collection. You are automatically disqualified if you are below 18 years of
age.
This E-mail message (including attachments, if any)is intended for the use
of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain
Information that is privileged,proprietary,confidential and exempted from
disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any
dissemination,distribution or copying of this communication is strictly
prohibited.

Sincerely,

David Platt.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam