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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!
  
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• 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")
• 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.
  • agent_lottery007@yahoo.co.uk

Fraud email example:

From: "micheal hollace" <europromowinning02@msn.com>
Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 16:34:51 +0000
Subject: Winning Notification!!!!!!

British Lottery Headquarters: Customer Service 28 TANFIELD ROAD, CROYDON. LONDON Ref: BTL/491OXI/04 Batch: 12/25/0304                                     WINNING NOTIFICATION                                               We announce to you the draw of the British Lottery International programs held on the 28th of January 2006 in London. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number: 564 75600545-188 with serial number 5388/02 drew the lucky numbers: 31-6-26-13-35-7, which subsequently won you the lottery in the 2nd category.   You have been approved to claim a total sum of US $2,500,000.00 (Two million, five hundred thousand, United States Dollars) in cash credited to file RPC/9080118308/04 made available from a total cash prize of US $125 Million dollars.You were selected randomly from world wide web sites through a computer drawn system extracted from over 100,000 companies.   Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in our play coupon. In view of this, your US $2,500,000.00 (Two million, five hundred thousand, United States Dollars) would be released to you by our affiliate bank in London as soon as you  establish contact.   To file for your claim, contact our fiduciary agent via the below details;   AGENT: Mr. Micheal Hollace Email:agent_lottery007@yahoo.co.uk         To avoid unnecessary delays and complications, please quote your reference/batch numbers in any correspondences with our designated agent. Congratulations once more from all members and staff of this program. Thank you for being part of our promotional lottery program.   Sincerely,   Mr Michael Ronin. Zonal Coordinator.                             INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION     Fast and Efficient Processing   Prompt Confirmation of Entry   Winning Results Checked Automatically Entry is 100% Confidential                                                                                                           77635 476378 255667460

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam