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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

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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.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• 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.
  • +447031957611 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: "Mrs Catherine Hudson" <n.dept@interlottsweep.co.uk>
Reply-To: "Mrs Catherine Hudson" <n.dept.interlott@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 23:42:07 -0700
Subject: Re:

   REF: Ballot Lottery Promotion Winning Notification

Attention bixnfleisch@joewein.net,

We the Board and Management of InterLotto Inc. wishes to inform you the results of the e-mail address ballot lottery program held on 1st day of September, 2006. Your email address bixnfleisch@joewein.net have been picked as a winner of $US950,000 (nine hundred and fifty thousand dollars) in this lottery program. This is a millennium scientific computer game in which email addresses were used. It is a promotional program aimed at encouraging internet users, therefore you do not need to buy a ticket to enter for it. All email addresses were selected through a computer ballot system in which your email address was selected as one of the lucky winners.

The details of this winning you will find below:

Ticket no:27508036088-047
Batch no: BB-040-SB
Serial no: 798-6013
Pass code : 608

Please take note of the above information. You will need these information in order to activate your winnings. Your reference number is QSL/411/233/05.

All participants were selected randomly from the World Wide Web through an automated computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 unions, associations, and corporate bodies that are listed online.

Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims 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 program by some participants.

To claim your prize money, simply contact our claims department via phone or email with the following contact details:

Mr. John McCarthy
Claims Department, InterLotto Inc. ,
Phone No:+447031957611
Email: interlottclaimsoffice@uk2.net

Quote your reference/batch numbers in your correspondence with us and you are advised to not to expose your numbers to avoid double claiming or voiding of your winning.

For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information confidential till your claims is processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some dubious individuals. Please be warned.

Congratulations from our members of staff !!

Mrs. Catherine Hudson
Notifications Department
InterLotto Inc.
700 Packer Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19148
United States

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam