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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:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "barrister" (Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.)
  • "cheque " (Beware of any scheme that involves cashing checks or money orders and then wiring a portion of the funds somewhere - you'll be liable for the entire amount if the checks or money orders turn out to be fake, even after you have received and forwarded cash)
• 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!
• Barristers (lawyers) mentioned in 419 scams are always fake.

Fraud email example:

From: "barrister ibrahim" <barrister_ibrahim_musa@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 14:58:33 +0000
Subject: YOUR WINNING TICKET NUMBER AND FULL DETAILS NEEDED

ATTENTION,

YOUR MAIL RECEIVED AND I WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT THIS PROGRAMME IS REAL AND NOT A JOKE AND IT IS SPONSORED BY TWO MAIN WORLD KNOWN PROMINENT PERSONALITIES . HIS HIGHNESS SULTAN OF BRUNEI AND BILL GATES OF MICROSOFT TO ENCOURAGE THE USE OF INTERNET AND COMPUTERS WORLD WIDE.ALL WIINERS ARE SELECTED RANDOMLY THROUGH A COMPUTER DRAW SYSTEM.

 

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO FORWARD YOUR DETAILS INFORMATION TO ME,YOUR FULL NAME AND ADDRESS,PRIVATE TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBER,OCCUPATION,AGE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY YOUR TICKET NUMBER FOR CONFIRMATION AND TO FACILITATE THE RELEASE AND DELIVERY OF YOUR CHEQUE TO YOUR NOMINATED ADDRESS.


I WILL BE WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

REGARDS AND CONGRATULATIONS.



BARRISTER IBRAHIM MUSA.

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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam