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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!
  
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• 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:
  • "claim agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • "foreign service manager" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
• 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!

Fraud email example:

From: "CLAIM AGENT MR. AMBROSE BOB" <fiduciary_claim_ambrosebob12@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 05 Aug 2006 04:18:58 -0800
Subject: Your Claim Agent, Mr. Ambrose Bob.

The National Lottery
PO Box 1010
Liverpool
L70 1NL

FROM: THE DESK OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE MANAGER

INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS/PRICE AWARDDEPARTMENT.

REF Nº: UK/2251256003/05

BATCH Nº:14/0017/1PD

I am in receipt of your email. For the remittance of your prize into your
designated account, To file for your claim, please do contact me with the
following details.

1.Full Name:

2.Home/Office Address:

3.Telephone/Fax:

4.Country:

5.Occupation:

6. Age/Sex:

7. Next Of Kin

All star prize winning must be claimed not later than 20th, August 2006.
After this date all unclaimed funds will be retured to European Union
Treasury as unclaimed. Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and
complications please remember to quote your reference number in all
correspondence.

Congratulations once again.NOTE: You are advised to keep me updated.

Your Claim Agent,

Mr. Ambrose Bob.

_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam