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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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• 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:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "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.
  • +447749475780
• 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.
  • mralfredwalterlondon@yahoo.com.hk (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: "Euro Millions National Lottery." <mike.miller@euromillions.co.uk> (may be fake)
Reply-To: mralfredwalterlondon@yahoo.com.hk
Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:22:13 +0100
Subject: Congratulations, you are our winner.


EURO MILLIONS

Watford, Head Office and Regional Centre Euro Millions,
Tolpits Lane, Watford, Herts,
WD18 9RN
REF NO: EML/ 56-TF-8890776
BATCH: 109/91300/EML
EURO MILLIONS NATIONAL LOTTERY.
Ticket Number: 27522465896-6453

Dear Sir/Madam,

Congratulations, you are our winner:

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Winners in our national Lottery Program held this Month. Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 27522465896-6453 with serial number 3772-554 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-31-45, which consequently won in the 2ND category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of 2,000,000 POUNDS (Two Million POUNDS).

CONGRATULATIONS!

Due to mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims have been fully processed and your money remitted to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid multiple claims and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants. All participants were selected through a computer ballot system drawn from over 20,000 companies and 30,000,000 individual email addresses and names from all over the world. This promotional program takes place every five years.

This lottery was promoted and sponsored by a conglomerate of some multinational companies in Europe as part of their social responsibility to the citizens in the communities where they have operational base. We hope with part of your winnings you will take part in our next year Ten million Pounds Jack Pot international lottery. To file for your claim, please contact our claims agent with details below.

Important Notice:

All winnings must be claimed not later than 10 working days after winners receive winning notices. After this, all unclaimed funds will be included in the next stake.

Please note in order to avoid unnecessary delays and complications, remember to quote your reference number and batch numbers in all correspondence. Furthermore, should there be any change of your contact address, do inform our claims agent as soon as possible.

Congratulations once more from all members of staff and thank you for being part of our promotional program.

You are advised to contact our claims notification officer who will also serve as you fiduciary agent, Mr. Alfred Walter to lay claims for your lump sum payment, his direct contacts is as stated below:

Mr. Alfred Walter.
Alfred Walter & associates
Abbey Street Lower,
R12 7XZ, London, United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 774 947 5780.
Email: mralfredwalterlondon@yahoo.com.hk <mailto:mralfredwalterlondon@yahoo.com.hk>

Note: Anybody under the age of 18 is automatically disqualified.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr. Mike Miller.
Euro Millions National Lottery (co-coordinator)

N.B: Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the winners will result to disqualification. Please do not reply to this mail, contact our claims agent.

======================================================
This email and its attachments are confidential and intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s). This email and its attachments may also be privileged or protected by legal rules. If you have received this by mistake please let us know by reply immediately and destroy the email and its attachments without reading, copying or forwarding the contents.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam