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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:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• 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!
• Western Union money transfer is completely untraceable and therefore is *not* safe to use with anyone you do not know personally. It is the preferred method of online criminals to collect money from their victims.
• 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.
  • +447031892997 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +447031892998 (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.
  • wumt.int@consultant.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Western Union International <sweepstakes@westernunion.com>
Reply-To: legrand_james@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2006 05:50:53 -0700
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?q?_Western_Union=AE_Gold_INTERNATIONAL_PROMOTIONS_NOTIFICATION?=


Dear Valued Customer,
Western Union® Gold
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS NOTIFICATION
Ref: WUMTSLI/421/960/06
Batch: (#4560)
We wish to notify you that BATCH (#456) of the Western Union® Gold promo, online Sweepstakes
International program been held from April 1st - June 30th as part of our annual bonanza to all our valued customers.
You have consequently won £250,000.00 in the sweepstakes in the "Gold" category picked on July 1st 2006.
We wish therefore that you confirm your transaction receipt been approved for pay out of funds in cash credited to Finacorpgroup Inc Financial Services.
All winning participants for the online version were selected randomly from Western Union credit transaction data base.
We advice you to verify this promotion LINK:www.westernunion.com/info/million_giveaway.asp
HOW TO CLAIM PRIZE
For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your transaction verified, processed and your money remitted to you.
This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program.
To file for your claim, please contact the Claims Dept:
Mr. Micheal Bates
Finacorpgroup Inc Financial Services affiliated to Western Union
Tel: + 447031892998 or +447031892997 (10am - 10pm)
Fax number: + 447005947325 or +44700594229
Email: wumt.int@consultant.com
Western Union® Gold promo, online Sweepstakes Rules
The rules and procedures of the international sweepstakes game as amended from time to time, govern this game and the case of receipt verification to you as the Case may be, or otherwise, prize winning and all aspect of this game are subject to these rules and procedures. The Receipt and reference number issued is the only valid proof of your number Selection and is the only valid receipt for claiming a prize. Prizes must be claimed within 30 days after the date of the notification mail. Prizes must be claimed in the manner stated on the notification mail.
The promoters accept no responsibility for receipts cancelled in error or for the entries given different from the central computer entries.
Receipts shall not be allocated to persons under the age of 16.
Congratulations.
Suzanne Hughes.
Online coordinator,
Western Union® promo, online Sweepstakes London,United Kingdom.
Western Union Financial Services, Inc., 100 Summit Avenue, Montvale, NJ 07645

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam