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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:
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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.
• 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!
• 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.
  • +27734898526 (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.
  • agenthenrycol@yahoo.co.uk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Henry Cole <agenthenrycol@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 08:32:12 +0100 (BST)
Subject: Re: RESPONSE TO YOUR WINNING NOTIFICATION


Dear Mr Kellhagen,
For and on behalf of the lottery promotion of the South Africa 2010 FIFA world cup being organized by the 2010 promotion committee together with Canadian lottery, we wish to once more congratulate you on your winning.
As we pointed out on your winning notification, your email address together with 59,999 other email addresses as selected for this lottery draw was achieved randomly from world wide websites, and you turn out to be a lucky winner.
Yes indeed you are a winner with the lottery organization and your winning amounts to US$1,310,000.00 (One Million Three Hundred and Ten Thousand United States Dollars).
To file for your claim you are to fill the verification form below and send it to your claim Henry Cole with the following details:
Mr. Henry Cole ( Claims Agent)
Email:
agenthenrycol@yahoo.co.uk
+27 73 489 8526

VERIFICATION AND FUNDS RELEASE FORM
1. FULL NAMES: __________________________________
2. ADDRESS: _____________________________________________
____________________________________________
3.SEX:_______________
4.AGE:________
5.MARITAL STATUS:___________________
6.OCCUPATION:________________________
7.E-MAIL ADDRESS:_____________________________
8.TELEPHONE_____________________
9. Fax NUMBER:_____________________
10.REFERENCE NUMBER:____________________
11.TICKET NUMBER:___________________
12.SERIAL NUMBER:__________________
13.AMOUNT WON:___________________________________
14.WINNING NUMBER: ________________________________
15. STATE:__________________________________
16. COUNTRY________________________________
Regards






> Pardon me but how did you obtain my internet details? I

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam