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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:
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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "to your nominated bank account" (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)
• 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.
  • +448709127724 (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.
  • f_davies@winning.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "U.K NATIONAL LOTTERY" <lottery2006_winner@latinmail.com> (may be fake)
Reply-To: lottery2006@latinmail.com
Date: Wed, 3 May 2006 15:29:37 +0100
Subject: Your Winning Reference Number: GW/06-AT/4273

U.K NATIONAL LOTTERY
Ref : GW/06-AT/4273
Batch: GW/06/7676
http://www.free-1.com

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the just concluded annual
final draws of Payday International Lotteria Program.Payday
International Lotteria draws was conducted from an exclusive list of
25,000,000 e-mail addresses of individual and corporate bodies picked
by an advanced automated random computer ballot search from the
internet as part of our international promotions program which we
conduct every year. No tickets were sold.After this automated computer
ballot, your e-mail address attached to serial number 25-6565 drew the
lucky numbers 08,15,23,16,33,42 which consequently emerged you as one
of first five (5) lucky winners in the secound category.You have
therefore been approved for a lump sum payout of $1,000,000.00 (One
Million Dollars) in cash credited to file GW/06-AT/7676.Your fund is
now deposited in an offshore bank with a hardcover
insurance. Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, we advice that
you keep this award from public notice until your claim has been
processed and your money remitted to your nominated bank account as
this is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or
unwarranted taking advantage of this program by the general public.

Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European
booklet representative office in Spain. In view of this, your
$1,000,000.00 (One Million Dollars) would be released to
you by our affiliate bank in Europe. Our agent will immediately
commence the process to facilitate the release of your funds to you as
soon as you make contact with him.To begin your claims please contact
our licensed and accredited agent assigned to you:

Contact Person: Mr. Frank Davies.
Tel / Fax:+44-8709127724
Email: f_davies@winning.com
Warning!!! All correspondence must be through Fax or Email for absoulte
securty of your information to avoid been intercepted through telephone
conversation.

Your claims agent will assist you in the processing
and remittance of your prize funds into your designated bank account.

Please, note that you will be required to pay for the issuance of your
winning certificate and that all prize funds must be
claimed not later than (4)four weeks. After this date all funds will be returned to the
lottery treasury as unclaimed funds. In order to avoid unnecessary
delays and complications, please endeavour to quote your
Reference Number: GW/06-AT/4273 and Batch numbers: GW/06/7676 in every
correspondence with your agent. Furthermore, should there be any change
in your address, do inform your claims agent as soon as possible.
Members of the affiliate agencies are automatically not allowed to
participate in this program.

Yours faithfully,

Mrs.Mary Robert
Online coordinator for UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
Sweepstakes International Program.
Copyright © 1994-2006 The UK National Lottery Inc.
All rights reserved. Terms of Service - Guidelines

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam