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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:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "foreign service manager" (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)
  • "cheque " (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!
• 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.
  • +447040124249 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mark Benson" <mr_markbenson2006@msn.com>
Reply-To: patrickbenoit@eml.cc
Date: Fri, 03 Feb 2006 15:15:17 +0000
Subject: CONTACT YOUR CLAIMS AGENT NOW!!!

FROM: THE DESK OF THE PROMOTIONS MANAGER,
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS / PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT,
SWEETWIN LOTTO PROMO LOTTERY
HEADQUARTERS: 10 NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE,
LONDON WC2N 5BX,
THE UNITED KINGDOM.

REF: OYL/25041238013/02
BATCH: 24/00319/IPD

ATTENTION: RE / AWARD NOTIFICATION/FINAL NOTICE

We are pleased to inform you of the announcement today, 3rd february 2006 of
Winners of the SWEETWIN PROMO LOTTERY, UNITED KINGDOM / INTERNATIONAL,
PROGRAMS held on 05th January 2006.

Your e-mail address is attached to ticket number: 023-0148-790-459, with
serial number 5073-11 drew the lucky numbers 43-11-44-37-10-43 and bonus
number 45 which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category. It is
our pleasure to inform you that you have emerged as a Category \"B\" winner
of the SWEETWIN LOTTO PROMO LOTTERY you have therefore been approved to
claim a total sum of £, 200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Great British Pounds,)
in cash credited to file Ref NO. OYL/25041238013/02.

This is from a total cash prize of £10 Million pounds shared among the first
fifty (50) lucky winners in this category. In view of this, the Certified
Bank Check of your £, 200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Great Britain Pounds,
would be released to you by our security firm in
London, United Kingdom. Our British agent will immediately commence the
process to facilitate the release of your funds as soon as you contact him.

As a second category winner, all participants for the free online lotto
version were selected randomly from World Wide Web sites through the
computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 names / companies from
Africa, Australia, New Zealand, America, Europe, North America and Asia as
Part of International Promotions Program, which is Conducted Bi-Annually.

After the computer ballot of our International Promotions Program, only
first fifty (50) lucky winners emerged in this category. In the 2nd
category, due to the mix up of some numbers and names, and for security
reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential
till your claims is being processed and your Certified Bank Cheque is being
received by you

To file for your claim, please contact our 2nd category fiduciary agent who
is your claims agent:

MR. PATRICK BENOIT
FOREIGN SERVICE MANAGER,
Vertex Finance Company
Tel: +44 7040 124249
Email: patrickbenoit@eml.cc


NOTE:

In order to avoid unnecessary delays and Complications, please remember to
quote your Reference and batch numbers in your correspondences with your
claim agent For due processing and the delivery of your won prize to be
sent to you through Certified Bank Check. Please do also send to your claim
Agent your telephone / fax number and your contact address where you want
to receive your cheque.

Furthermore, should there be any Change of your address, do inform our
fiduciary agent who is your claims agent as soon as possible. This is part
of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by
participants Of This program.

Congratulations again from all our staff and thank you for being part of our
promotions program.

Yours faithfully,
Mr. John Halding
The Promotions Manager,
SWEETWIN LOTTO PROMO LOTTERY, UNITED KINGDOM.


N.B. any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to
disqualifications.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam