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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:

• 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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "from the desk of" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "million united states dollars" (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.
  • +27734788080 (South Africa, prepaid mobile phone)
• 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.
  • paulnkosi@starmail.co.za (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: starlotteries@starmail.co.za
Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 13:15:13 +0200
Subject: Contact our claims Manager to arrange for your payout

FROM THE DESK OF THE PROMOTION MANAGER,
STAR LOTTERY, SOUTH AFRICA.

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are happy to inform you that you have won a cash prize
of $1,000.000.00(one million United States Dollars in STAR
LOTTERY Promotional draw announced today 29th May 2006.

Winners were selected through a computer ballot system
drawn from 5,500,000 email addresses of individuals from Africa,
America, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Middle East, and New
Zealand as part of our electronic business Promotions Program.
You qualified for the draw as a result of visiting STAR
LOTTERY ORGANIATION e-business websites on the Internet.

A ticket number 900-309-6482, with serial number 311 410-887 was
attached to your email address which drew the lucky numbers 1 10
29 37 45 49 and consequently won in the second category.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You are to email the Claims Manager with the information below to
arrange for your payout,

Name: Mr. Paul Nkosi.
Tel:+27-73-478-8080.
Email:paulnkosi@starmail.co.za

Please make sure you quote your ticket, serial numbers as
well as the amount won in your email to the claims Manager
for easy identification of your file.

Ensure that you contact the director of claims department not later than
14 working days from the day you receive this notification message for
due processing and remittance of your prize.


Sincerely,

MRS MARGARET POWELL
THE PROMOTIONS MANAGER,
STAR ONLINE PROMOTIONS, SOUTH AFRICA.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam