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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:
  • "fiduciary agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "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!
• 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.
  • +447031954072 (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.
  • lottery_desk@winning.com

Fraud email example:

From: Promotion Manager <lottery_announcer01@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2006 10:31:17 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: YAHOO!...AWARD WINNING NOTIFICATION.



ONLINE LOTTERY.





YAHOO! GRAND EMAIL LOTTERY PROMOTION.
PRIZE AWARD DEPT
REF NO: YLP/4910X1/05
BATCH NO: 12/25/0305

WINNING NOTIFICATION
Attn: Winner,
We are pleased to inform you of the release of the YAHOO! ONLINE EMAIL
LOTTERY PROMO/WORLD GAMING BOARD held on 23rd June 2006. Your email address was randomly selected among others from a pool of Java generated
email addresses comprising of yahoo account users, other account users
private and companies email accounts all over the world. Your email
address attached to Ticket No: 7804468845 with Batch No: 0252393053 drew
the lucky numbers 08-09-17-29-37-43-7 which subsequently won the lottery
in the 1st category.


You have therefore been approved a lump sum of ONE MILLION GREAT BRITAIN POUNDS.

Your Award Prize is presently deposited with our paying bank
in a suspense account, insured in your REFERENCE NUMBER and covered
with HIGH INSURANCE POLICY.

Due to mix up of some emails, numbers and names, we ask that you keep
your winning information confidential until your claim has been processed
and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to
avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this Lottery program.
Below is the contact detail of your claims agent;

Dr. Todd Aaron
(Fiduciary Agent)

Email:lottery_desk@winning.com
Tel: +44 703 195 4072
Fax: +44 709 286 8727

To enable your claims officer file your claims with the gaming board and to obtain the necessary approval and endorsement for payment, you are to immediately furnish your fiduciary/claims agent with the following
information below:

1. Full Names:
2. Current Address:
3. Tel/Mobile/Fax Numbers:
4. Nationality:
5. Date of Birth:
6. Winning Email Address:
7. Next Of Kin and Address:
8. Occupation:
9. Batch and Serial Numbers:
10. Ticket and Reference Numbers:

N.B: Your claims agent shall verify your information and further
instructions shall be sent to you prior the release of your award prize.

Furthermore, should there be any change of your address, do inform your
Fiduciary/Claims Agent as soon as possible. All winning must be claimed
not later than 20 days of this notification. After this date all unclaimed,
funds will be included in the next sweepstake.


Congratulations once again and thank you for being a part of the YAHOO! ONLINE EMAIL LOTTERY PROMO.

Yours Sincerely,
Dr. Paul White
(Promotion Manager).

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam