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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

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.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES" <freelottooffice@zwallet.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: FREELOTTOCLAIMAG@NETSCAPE.COM
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:35:35 +0200
Subject: SUB : FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM

FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES
P.O BOX 4562,
GRAND CENTRAL STATION,
NEW YORK, NY 10163.
UNITED STATE OF AMERICA.
REF: LSUK/2031/8161/05 BATCH: R3/A312-59
WINNING NOTIFICATION
WE ANNOUNCE TO YOU THE DRAW (#999) HELD ON WED, 15TH FEB 2006.
YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS ATTACHED TO TICKETNUMBER: 56475600545 188 WITH SERIAL NUMBER 5368/02 DREW THE LUCKY NUMBERS: 04,29,39,41,43,45,42. THIS SUBSEQUENTLY WON YOU THE MATCH 5 PLUS BONUS.
YOU HAVE THEREFORE BEEN APPROVED TO CLAIM A TOTAL SUM OF USD$10,000,000.00 (TEN MILLION UNITED STATE DOLLARS) IN CASH CREDITED TO FILE NO: KTU/9023118308/03.
ALL PARTICIPANTS FOR THE ONLINE VERSION WERE SELECTED RANDOMLY FROM THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW) THROUGH A COMPUTER DRAW SYSTEM AND EXTRACTED FROM OVER 100,000 UNIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, INDIVIDUALS AND CORPORATE BODIES EMAIL ADDRESSES THAT ARE LISTED ONLINE.
THIS PROMOTION TAKES PLACE QUATERLY. IN VIEW OF THESE, YOUR USD$10,000,000.00 WOULD BE RELEASED TO YOU BY ANY OF OUR PAYMENT
OFFICE .
TO APPLY FOR YOUR CLAIM, PLEASE CONTACT OUR ONLINE CLAIM AGENT BELOW:-
MR. SCOTT ELLIS.
FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES
P.O BOX 4562,GRAND CENTRAL STATION,
NEW YORK, NY 10163.UNITED STATE OF AMERICA.
E-MAIL : FREELOTTOCLAIMAG@NETSCAPE.COM </ym/Compose?To=FREELOTTOCLAIMAG@NETSCAPE.COM>
ENDEAVOUR TO PROVIDE HIM WITH THE INFORMATION(S) BELOW:
1. NAME:
2. ADDRESS:
3. MARITAL STATUS:
4. OCCUPATION:
5. AGE:
6. SEX:
7. NATIONALITY:
9. TEL :
10: FAX NO:
11: DRAW NUMBER ABOVE:
THAT WAY YOUR WINNINGS CERTIFICATE AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS /PAPERWORK CAN BE PREPARED FOR YOU.
YOU WOULD BE REQUIRED TO SHOW A PROVE OF IDENTIFICATION WHEN CASHING YOUR CHEQUE I.E. DRIVERS LICENSE OR INTERNATIONAL PASSPORTS FOR SECURITY REASONS,
YOU ARE ADVISED TO KEEP YOUR WINNING INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL UNTILL YOUR CLAIMS IS PROCESSED AND RELEASE.
THIS IS PART OF OUR PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE TO AVOID DOUBLE CLAIMING AND UNWARRANTED ABUSE OF THIS PROGRAM.
PLEASE BE WARNED AND TREAT AS URGENT.
CONGRATULATIONS IN ADVANCE!!!
SIR. JONES DUTCHER
ONLINE CO-ORDINATOR
FOR FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM

COPYRIGHT 1994-2006 FREE LOTTO,PLASMANET INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. TERMS OF SERVICE - GUIDELINE.
PROTECTED BY U.S. PATENT NO. 6,454,650
MR. SCOTT ELLIS.
FREELOTTO SWEEPSTAKES
P.O BOX 4562,GRAND CENTRAL STATION,
NEW YORK, NY 10163.UNITED STATE OF AMERICA.



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