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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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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:
  • "claims 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!

Fraud email example:

From: mr smith donald <forddepartment_smith@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 22:32:17 +0100 (BST)
Subject: CLAIMS PROCESSING FORM






CLAIMS PROCESSING FORM
I am Mr. Smith Donald your claims agent. On behalf of the Ford Motors promotion, I wish to congratulate you, you are the lucky winner of the most prestigious Ford annual promotion held on the 7th of JAN 2006. You have won for yourself a Focus brand new car and the sum of 250,000 pounds sterling, (Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling). The promotion was done on the world wild web; the E-mail was electrically generated and was picked randomly. You are required to fill the following form to facilitate processing of your claims and the certificate of award/winning.

1. Full names:......................................................................................
2. Address:..........................................................................................
3. Tel.............................................Fax................................................
4. monthly income:.............................................................................
5. Date of Birth...................................................Gender.....................
6. Nationality:......................................................................................
7. State:.........................................Zip Code:.......................................
8. Ref: numbers....................................................................................

You are advised to forward these information as soon as possible to enable us attend to your file.You are advised to keep your winning numbers secret to avoid unscrupulous elements from taking advantage of the situation.
Congratulations once again.


yours faithfully,
Mr. Smith Donald.
FORD MOTORS ANNUAL PROMO UK (HEADQUARTERS)




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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam